Leyland Cypress with dying branches on interior - Ask Extension
This Leyland Cypress is about 15 feet in height. I planted it about four years ago. I'm hoping to find out what might be causing this damage and if th...
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Leyland Cypress with dying branches on interior #873097
Asked June 14, 2024, 11:35 AM EDT
This Leyland Cypress is about 15 feet in height. I planted it about four years ago. I'm hoping to find out what might be causing this damage and if there is a something I can do to stop it or at least help the tree to overcome the problem. Image #3 is of two areas of running sap on the trunk; could that be from the same cause?
Washington CountyMaryland
Expert Response
Hi,
Could you send a photo of the entire tree to we can see the overall health? Feel free to attach it directly to a reply.
Did you provide water last year during our dry months? You can try to alleviate stress symptoms this season by supplementing with irrigation as needed. Prune out the dead branches as they may occur and just monitor the over all health. Make sure it is not planted too deeply or mulched too high. You should see the trunk come down and then flare out at the base where it meets the soil - like the stem on a wine glass.
Hi, Emily. Thank you for writing back. I can't remember if I watered this tree last year. I know I watered all of my smaller trees. Here is a full image. Those fungal diseases look horrible. I hope this tree doesn't have those. Should I worry about a fungal disease spreading to other trees in my yard? I have gray dogwood, redbud, and serviceberry nearby, and another Leyland Cypress that I planted at the same time. It's not exhibiting anything like what I sent before (thankfully).
Thank you for the additional photo. The pictured leyland looks good. Seiridium tends to infect only conifers (juniper, yew, cypress, etc.), so the other plants you mention (aside from any other leylands) should be unaffected. Botryosphaeria can have a much broader host plant range (rhododendron, redtwig dogwood, and redbud are common victims, for example), but as with Seiridium, both tend to infect only plants that are stressed, like from drought. Drought and under-watering stress are not guaranteed to result in infection, but it's a common condition predisposing the plant and making it more vulnerable to infection if the pathogen is active. Preventative fungicide applications are neither effective nor recommended in this situation, so disease management revolves around minimizing plant stress when intervention is possible (such as watering periodically during dry spells). Feel the soil before assuming watering is needed, since over-watering can result in a different set of consequences, like root rot fungi that kill roots and cause decline that cannot be treated. If the soil feels damp to the touch around 6 inches below the surface in the plant's root zone, watering is probably not needed. If somewhat dry to the touch at that depth, then a thorough watering is probably going to be beneficial if zero or minimal rain is forecast.
