How to save dying trees

thejinkazama

Hello,

I have these trees in my garden which are dying/dead. I didn’t plant them and know next to nothing about gardening. Last summer, I watered them relentlessly and quite a lot of green has started reappearing. How do I bring them back to life again? Should I pull all the dead brown parts off?

Thanks

sevenhills

Conifers are really sensitive and often have dead parts. You have done well to get some green, but I would bin them and start afresh.

theoretica

I too would start from new.  And how long after watering did you take that picture with standing water in the pot?  Is it slow to drain?

thejinkazama

Thanks for the advice guys. I took it shortly after, it drains very quickly. 

[Deleted User]

The pot is way too small for the size and type of conifer you could try planting it out in the ground but with that amount of dead wood I would start again with something better suited to the position. 

thejinkazama

[Deleted User] said:

The pot is way too small for the size and type of conifer you could try planting it out in the ground but with that amount of dead wood I would start again with something better suited to the position. 

Thanks for this. What would you recommend instead of this conifer?

twopenny

They may  juts send out some new tiny fronds from the trunk if you cut out the dead wood but it would be tiny, random and peculiar looking. Really they've had it as big trees.

You could in true MSE style cut the trunk down to the growing bit, take them out, tease the roots out of the solid block they will be in and replant in the garden. 
They may turn into a small bush. The yellow looking good on dull days.

The wood is no good for a fire either.

theoretica

What is important to you for that spot?  Evergreen?  Flowers?  Low maintenance? Size?

thejinkazama

Low maintenance, evergreen and a good size would be great!

Silvertabby

Probably started as something like this:
Won't have been cheap!  Sadly, yours is beyond saving - but there are plenty of suitable evergreens out there. 

[Deleted User]

If you want it to be a conifer, you need to check what depth of pot, whether it will thrive in sun or shade, how big it could grow and how fast. Worth asking at the garden centre where you can see what's on offer that you like. Maybe a laurel of one sort or another? They do really well and aside from cutting back a bit if they get out of shape there's no maintenance, they just get on with it.