lets see a pic ... there is a reason.. these are not favored plants.. in many areas ... you learned one of the first ... we just cant guess if brown tissue might bud out.. we need to see it ... but the answer might still be its a lost cause... ken

mother earth involves soil ... pots use potting media ... or medium ... soil is soil.. and you have to deal with your soil ... we can guide.. but you have to figure it out ... media can be designed for specific applications.. to hold or shed as much water as you want ... e.g. hosta like to be nearly drowned... so they use a lot of peat .. conifers like dry feet .... and you would use a lot of bark or wood chips or perlite .... and very little peat [80/20] how to water.... in your soil in your yard is for you to figure out ... you have to supply water to the roots you disturbed.. that means at the root level ... water .. then insert finger or small trowel ... and see if there is anything down at the roots ....once you get the water down there... do not water again until it is dry down there .... use finger or shovel ... you have to figure it out ... in my sand... pure mineral sand .... i might water once a month.. if there is any decent rain ... only my finger will tell ... but i have 100% drainage .... maybe every 2 weeks in the heat of summer ... maybe once a week in drought and heat .... there is never standing water in sand a lot of peeps have to deal with clay ... dig a 15 gal cauldron .. fill it with water.. and in bad clay.. you might come back a month later.. and it will still be full of water... that is how they make ponds up here .... dig hole in sand.. line with clay .... unless you buy a swamp plant.. a conifer will not like that much water.. and there are special ways to plant in clay ... anyway .... to turn your thumb green.. insert it into the soil.. until you begin to understand how water moves in and through it .... the more you learn about it.. the happier you garden will be .... GOOD LUCK!!! ken

is the one in the pic still in a pot.. or did you really plant it 6 inches from one wall.. and 12 inches from the other??? .. i bet that wall is cooking it with reflected and retained heat ... what are you going to do when it is 25 feet tall and 8 feet wide??? .; see link I'm spraying the trees every time I water them and it gets pretty windy up here in the desert, ===>>> is that the only water.. or are you actually watering the roots also?? ken Here is a link that might be useful: they are monsters

hey sailor ... lol .. learn how to ID the pest on your trees.. and then worry about them when you get them... preventative spraying is basically pollution ... i have no qualms about the proper use of chems.. but just spraying them is not really recommended .. as for the snake oil salesman ... well.. if the pests were on the neighbors tree.. well good for him on the ID and recommendation ... if there are no vermin there.. well.. he is probably working on his boat payments .. eh??? .. and getting the word around the 'hood ... so he will generate more work/boat payments ... i would not be surprised if you get a bunch of bad mouthing on the cypress.. but it irrelevant to the actual problem.. i doubt we will talk you into getting rid of them ... until the pest problem is costing you more than you want to pay ... if in fact the pest is an issue good luck ken ps: a quick call to your county Ag office will probably inform you if there is some local plague going on ...