Are my trees beyond help?

I have 5 of these trees in pots, that thrived for the 4 years I've had them, till we moved house last summer. I trimmed them back last September....after being advised it was the right time of year to do this.....but now they are turning brown and look very sad. Is there anything I can do to revive them, or are they beyond help?

 

Looks like the Leylandii aphid to me

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/fo...dii-new-growth-20658.html?p=323013#post323013

 

Oh dear:( Does'nt look good then. Thanks for the links.....I've read through them, and think maybe I should just call it quits and start again with maybe some different potted trees:cnfs:

 

"maybe some different potted trees"

Box would be good for topiary in pots. Yew too, probably.

 

Thank you Kristen......I'll be off to the garden centre on the weekend looking for box I think!

 

You might be better off on-line, I've found them expensive in the garden centre.

I bought a couple last Winter, prices as a guide - if your garden centre is cheaper go for it!

60cm Buxus Sempervirens Ball in 60L pot £100.00 (smaller ones will be a lot cheaper!)

105-110cm Buxus Sempervirens £45.00 - roughly shaped to a cone, but needs another year to "thicken up"

 

It depends on your particular variety, but for the most part if you trim a leylandi back to brown growth it will never rejuvenate. My guess would be that you have cut it back too hard. Unfortunately there's nothing much you can do about this. A basic rule of leylandi is never cut back to reveal the brown area. Unfortunately many of us learn this the hard way (I did). However, if this damage wasn't evident at the time you cut the plant back it could be caused by 'wind burn' as we've had a particularly harsh winter this year.

Whilst it could very well be the aphid, given that it is coincident with you pruning your trees, it is more likely that you have just been over-enthusiastic with the hedge trimmer/shears.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0805/coniferhedge_bare.asp

the above link might help.

 

Time will tell because if it is the Aphid it will get worse.

Here's a Leylandii I bought in 2007 and this picture was taken in Spring 2008. There was an identical pair to it, about 10' away, which was undamaged (so unlikely to be wind etc.). They were trimmed to shape every few weeks, so no hard cutting back occurred.