Help needed with these (fir?) trees please

We have 3 trees that were already there when we moved in. They have grown from 3ft to about 12ft in 20 years and we haven't touched them. But now the one in the middle and the one on the right (close up photos) are starting to die a bit and aren't as bushy as they were. Hubby wants to take them out, but I won't let him! There is a hawthorn tree behind them which I think is sucking up water away from them and I'd much rather that was removed as it blocks the view from the driveway a bit as we drive away.
Can anyone name these 2 trees? The one on the left is some kind of fir and is healthy and bushy, so I'm not worried about that one. But the one in the middle and on the right have become more sparce and bits have died off them. Can anyone please advise?

 

Hi Ros,

Leylandii. If you leave them long enough they'll grow to about 70 feet

 

we have a leylandii hedge out the back, these ones are different and deffo not so fast growing

 

They look to me to be more like thuja occidentalis. One of the older varieties. Sorry, dont know the English name! If they are, and one is dying back, then I would expect it needs to be removed. They cant get new growth on old/dead wood.

They tend to have shallow roots, so I doubt the problem being the hawthorn.

 

You're right @Sandy Ground

White Cedar, now that one is in my book whereas Leylandii isn't

"Wood is valuable, does not contract when drying, suitable for boat building and underwater construction. Height 60 foot."

Source - The illustrated book of trees and shrubs.

 

Personally I think they are Chamaecyparis, (Lawsons Cypress), not sure the cones are right for Thuja.
In the pics we are seeing last years cones which are brown and this years which are just forming.

Cant actually see any die back in any of the pics.

 

It's weird, Pete. The last couple of years they were getting brown leaves on certain branches and they did look like they were dying off. But this year they look all green again, except for a few underneath. I've taken some better pics. Maybe they had a lack of water for a year or two? The 2 in question used to be bushier, is there any way we can get that bushiness back? or is it just how they grow?

 

I had a few of these some years ago, they do go brown and die off should any part of the foliage be in deep shade, not sure if that could be the problem.
The inside branches will look totally dead, there is only a matter of a foot to 18 ins of green all around the outside of the tree.
Lower branches will also start to die off once the trees start to get big, that is if you dont clip them into a hedge.

I've got a feeling you might have three seed grown plants there as they appear to have differing habits of growth.

They actually look fine to me in the long shots, and I would very much doubt trees of that size would suffer much from drought in the UK.

 

Thanks Pete. They're in full sun, so that shouldn't be the problem. So they all look healthy enough? Would it hurt to take the tops off them?

 

No, you can take the tops off, but they will still continue to grow upwards and outwards, you are best close clipping them once or twice a year, they will thicken out then also.

 

I can clip them? Lovely, I'd love them to be thicker. I don't want to see the nobhead that lives over the road

 

You can clip, just dont cut into brown wood.
which is why small amounts and often is good.