What we've done is similar to what you are thinking of. We would cut the tree or shrub as close to the ground as possible and as straight across as possible so that pots sitting on them will be level. You can drill several holes in the top of what's left of the trunk and pour in a small amount of broadleaf weedkiller to keep the trunks from resprouting. I don't know how long it would take italian cypress tree roots to rot tho. You might have potted plants there for quite a while!

ditto

There is a product especially for killing the stumps called root kill. It is granular and I would have to drill holes like you said and fill them with this stuff then let it sit. I used it when my sweet gum got sick and we had to take it down. It did do a pretty good job at killing the stump, but there were still a few roots that popped up suckers out in the lawn. That is what I'm more worried about is what the roots will do. I have a feeling it won't do the same thing though.

I'll have to make sure I get good quality pots that won't fall apart or crack after a year or two so I can leave them in place until the stumps are rotted enough to remove them. I'll make sure we make that bottom cut as level as we can and as flush to the ground as we can. I think I might set some stepping stones over the area so I can then place my pots there.

Italian Cypress are valuable landscape plants. I wonder how tall they are? I've never seen one leaning over. Is it possible that you might lossen them up a bit below and then run some wires above and to try and re-train them to stand errect?

You can certainly cut them, but you'll still be stuck with the trees to get rid of and stumps that need to be dealt with. What I would suggest is putting an add in Craigslist under "free" or "farm and garden".

Let them go to a profession landscaper. Stipulate that they can have them for free but they must be preofessional landscapers with the proper equiptment to remove them, refill the hole and replace any damaged holly. Make sure that when they show up they have the proper equiptment and are people you are confident to deal with.

I think as long as you had a pro removing them you should be ok and you'll have the whole job done in one day with no stumps to worry about later.

Good luck!

You can top them. We did this and it worked fine. They will get wider (trim them down) but they keep the column shape.

We have a two story house and these have been in place only about ten years and they are already as tall as the house. They are not leaning at the base, but towards the top - they have bent in the wind and rub against the house/gutters. They're too big to put on Craig's List and I wouldn't want someone else trying to dig something out of my garden anyway. We are big do-it-yourselfers and even used a stump grinder to remove the stump from the old sweet gum last fall. I just don't see how we'd be able to get a stump grinder where these trees are at (between the pillars of the house and shrubs in front), so that is why we would simply cut the stump as level as possible and let it rot.

Like I said before, my main concern is suckering from the roots.

My four specimens of much loved Italian cypress seem to be removing themselves by dying from the bottom up.

For years I have sprayed the foliage with water every few days to keep spider mites at bay, but didn't get out there much this last winter to do it so I don't know if the spider mites have gotten to them or the excessive amount of rain we had last year killed some of the roots.

Any ideas?

All the information I have read on them says they can be shaped, so why not see if this would work for you? They are gorgeous trees, and a shame to have to destroy them.