It is safe to transplant one of the other trees that I just planted last fall? ==>> in fall.. why hot ... listen.. that is a large tree ... my WAG.. total guess.. is that it was dug up for delivery to you.. and it was at that digging ... that its roots were massacred ... and that is why it coned like crazy this year.. a response to a death threat ... however .. it was babied enough thru potting/shipping.. etc.. that it survived ... and now.. it is showing its demise ... you will never know what is going on.. underground.. until it dies and you dig it up.. and hose off all the soil .... and see what was done down there ... the odds of it being.. anything but a root issue.. IN MY HUMBLE OPINION.. is low to nil.. compared to the root issues ... most stock shipped is so sterilized according to state horticultural guidelines .. i just doubt you brought in a problem that will affect the others ... its possible.. just not probable... when one starts thinking about the millions of arbs shipped all over the world ... in other words.. i would quit worrying about the 9th plague of the bible ... this one was just bad ... and the only reason to move one from the end.. is to maintain a basically similar size.. in the middle of the bunch ... one year later.. even a new one.. wont be all that out of range ... especially in a few years ... again.. a 29 out of 30 batting average.. is GREAT ... thats .997 ... ken

I'm in zone 8 where there is red clay and loam and is impervious so good drainage isn't the best. I learned last year that when these GG's and Leland's get "wet feet" they do this as you pictured. I had an issue with water just below the surface holding up in the root ball holes. I went back and dug up the dead ones and got them refunded and this time, knowing what I was working with what I had to devise a plan so it didn't reoccur. First, my trees were the size of yours, but spaced 8-9 foot apart with a back row of Leland cypress as a back screen. I staggered the trees when planting them. Here's the trick I devised for my application as I wasn't about to put in a expensive french drain in the whole length of the property to catch subsurface water from heavy rain runoffs or a shallow topsoil water table. 1. The holes were dug twice (or more) as wide the root ball. 2. I slashed the roots vertically all around the ball and across the bottom. 3. Added Milorganite (from Lowe's) and a fruit tree slow 8-9 month release fertilizer in the back fill dirt that came out of the hole. (Wildlife Mgt. Group makes the fruit tree slow release locally) 4. I dug the hole just deep enough to allow 2" of root ball to be exposed once it was set and done. I gashed the sides of the hole with a maddox so the roots could work their way into the walls later down the road. 5. In the "dead center" of the planting hole, I used a post hole digger and made a hole 3-4' deeper than the bottom of the planting hole. 6. I put small to medium sized river rocks from Lowe's into the hole and just enough to cover the planting hole bottom. ( I made a sump for water to collect in so, no wet feet issues) 7. I set the trees into the holes and back filled the holes. 8. I didn't stomp the dirt down around the root ball but packed it in by walking it in or using the end of a shovel handle. 9. I made sure the root ball was exposed 2" above the ground level once the holes were finished being back filled. 10. I didn't water them in right away because the ground was saturated enough already. I watered the mulch and left them for a few days then watered them in. 11. I added 2-3" of wood mulch around the root ball and out to the edge of the hole width. I DID NOT pile up mulch around the tree trunk or on the root ball. Just enough to cover it to stay moist when watered later. 12. I do not use a drip line to water them and I have at total of 31 GG's and Leland's planted. Depending on the weather (rain, heat) down here determined how or frequency I watered them. I use the old water hose technique when I water them. I usually water them (if not rainy) by watering them at the base of the tree (deep root watering) counting up to 90 and then soaking the remaining drip line around the tree and always shower the greenery on each one then move on. 13. I might do this once a week if no rain or a week and a half in duration. The whole key to my success was the planting hole design, drip line cultivated and fed with the mix I made up, mulch depth, root ball height above ground level, back fill dirt replacement, tree spacing and watering techniques. The saying goes, 1st year sleep, 2nd year creep and 3rd year grow! I accelerated it quite considerably as some are only 2 years old and were 3' tall and now are 6.5 foot tall in 1 year! I was blown away. I have posted on here before when I first planted the GG's and then replanted everything after. I did a post in the Spring of 2016 showing when they woke up and just a week or so ago on how much they've grown just one year. I can't say this fits your zone as you have a winter we never see down here. I would make sure you have those babies mulched in good for the cold blast and freeze you have up there coming soon. Browse the posts and find my posts and images of my screening I have going on for an example. Good luck as well, but I think some of those are toast by what I experienced concerning trees with "wet feet" Expect some browning inside in the fall but not to where the whole tree looks like its fried. I hope this helped you out. Here are the links to my other posts. http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3884765/thuja-green-giants-2-month-growth-z8?n=6 http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3850094/green-giant-leyland-cypress-zone-8-pics?n=3 http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3850082/green-giant-leyland-cypress-zone-8?n=4

dont confuse its CONES.. with growth points look at a green branch .... they end in green tips ... i think you are looking at groups of cones ... the tag is still on it.. is this a rather large RECENT transplant.. at the links above.. it is repeatedly stated that transplant increases this .... as well as other things i right clicked the links to open in a new window.. and they did not enlarge.. but when i just clicked them.. they opened large in a new window .. go figure.. learn something new every day .. lol ken

first pic.. on the way to dead ... second pic .. sinmgle branch dead... trim it out to green growth ... probably shipping damage ... third pic ... no clue... 4th pic ... definitely dead ... did you fail to mention these were all recent large transplants??? .. if so.. how planted.. and what is your watering protocol??? improper watering... or poor ball and burlap digging is probably the problem ... both significantly impact the plants ability to process the water they need they are conifers .. as well as trees ... there is a forum for each ... if you are interested ... if you have a warranty ... use it this fall ... ken