Tim is right. To do that much work you should give the tree a whole season to recover. The only thing I would add is to reduce the foliage at the same time to reduce the demands on the stressed root system. Vernon

Hi Blue Yew Maybe it's these new hybrids generating seed. It kinda makes sense right now. Callitropis vietnamenis is what sprung up a lot of this or was one of the first things to cross my mind in regards to where this conversation might have headed. Now I see on Google that's how DPL listed this discovery whereas Farjon clips it as Cupressus vietnamensis. I'll be interested to hear more. It's already evident though that how we all classify things in current fluct are ...interpretative. Hi Pinetree, I've given up on Xanthocyparis... it's probably going to be like this 'new' Hesperocyparis. Never even heard of "Hesperocyparis." This is getting ugly. This is a list I saved Resin wrote (2007): Chamaecyparis. Asia, North America; cones mature in 6-8 months. Chamaecyparis formosensis - Formosan Cypress Chamaecyparis lawsoniana - Lawson's Cypress Chamaecyparis obtusa - Hinoki Cypress Chamaecyparis pisifera - Sawara Cypress Chamaecyparis taiwanensis - Taiwan Cypress Chamaecyparis thyoides - White Cypress Callitropsis - may be better regarded as a synonym of Cupressus, at least for the time being pending further DNA tests. North America, one in Vietnam; cones mature in 18-25 months (selected examples only): Cupressus arizonica (syn. Callitropsis arizonica) - Arizona Cypress Cupressus bakeri (syn. Callitropsis bakeri) - Modoc Cypress Cupressus glabra (syn. Callitropsis glabra) - Smooth Arizona Cypress Cupressus lusitanica (syn. Callitropsis lusitanica) - Mexican Cypress Cupressus macnabiana (syn. Callitropsis macnabiana) - MacNab Cypress Cupressus macrocarpa (syn. Callitropsis macrocarpa) - Monterey Cypress Cupressus nootkatensis (syn. Callitropsis nootkatensis) - Nootka Cypress Cupressus sargentii (syn. Callitropsis sargentii) - Sargent's Cypress Cupressus vietnamensis (syn. Callitropsis vietnamensis) - Vietnamese Cypress Cupressus, in the restricted sense. Eurasia, North Africa; cones mature in 18-20 months (selected examples only): Cupressus atlantica - Moroccan Cypress Cupressus cashmeriana - Bhutan Cypress Cupressus dupreziana - Saharan Cypress Cupressus funebris - Chinese Cypress Cupressus sempervirens - Mediterranean Cypress Cupressus torulosa - West Himalayan Cypress Sources: Gadek, P. A., Alpers, D. L., Heslewood, M. M., & Quinn, C. J. (2000). Relationships within Cupressaceae sensu lato. A combined morphological and molecular approach. American Journal of Botany 87: 1044-1057. Little, D. P., Schwarzbach, A., Adams, R. P., & Hsieh, C.-F. (2004). The Circumscription and Phylogenetic Relationship of Callitopsis and the Newly Described Genus Xanthocyparis (Cupressaceae) American Journal of Botany 91: 1872-1881. Xiang, Q. & Li, J. (2005). Derivation of Xanthocyparis and Juniperus from within Cupressus: Evidence from Sequences of nrDNA Internal Transcribed Spacer Region. Harvard Papers in Botany 9: 375-382. Little, D. P. (2006). Evolution and Circumscription of the True Cypresses (Cupressaceae : Cupressus). Systematic Botany 31: 461-480. Seems I'm using DPL "Callitropsis" placement for vietnamensis. It was just an internet article I read quite a while back. A little photo on a mountainside accompanied it. Dax

Hi Ryantree, I've tried to make bonsai out of Hinoki cypress with no success. I tried to make it bud in old wood by pinching the tips and giving it a lot of sun, but it didn't work... pruning a whole branch didn't result in back bud either in my case. I recently gave up and planted them in a garden. I would reduce the height of the tree as a natural Jin, and get rid of some branches using Shari, and wire the best branches, increasing density by pinching the tips. It is difficult however to make Hinoki cypress look dense, this might take years. It is easier in some dwarf cultivars. Don't be drastic with root pruning either, maybe 20-30% each time you prune them (every 2 years maybe, if healthy and vigorous), until you achieve a shallow root system. Good luck!

I have a Hinoki Cypress grafted or trained as a 3' standard which I planted last year. We sprayed WiltPruf on it heavily at the start of winter. In late winter/early spring it started to brown noticeably, about the same time that some of our large-leaf rhododendrons did. Careful review showed all the browning to be on the sunward (south) side, not the windward (north/northwest) side. This spring we transplanted it to the north side of our garage, where during winter, w/ the lower sun angle, it should be mostly shaded from direct sun. We did something similar w/ one of our large-leaf (English Roseum) rhododendrons. We'll see if that makes the difference. Both plants already liked the summer better where they're at now. So, my experience so far seems to indicate it's the late winter sunshine, while the ground is still frozen, that hurts these evergreens the most.