Question
My husband put spike fertilizer in our cypress trees during August in Las Vegas. He said they got plenty of water, but they look dead. They are five years old. Can they be saved? Karyn

Answer
First check to see if the tree is alive--start near the end of an upper branch and scrape a small bit of bark off and if the color under the bark is green the branch is still alive. If the color under the bark is brown the branch is dead at this point on the branch--continue down the branch scraping at intervals until you find green or reach the main trunk. Try other branches.--if no green is found the tree is dead. If green is found water with 1 inch of water --place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop. Do this every fourth day until it rains good. You can prune the dead off now or wait until next spring to make sure what is dead and what is not. Sorry it does not sound too good. Do not use the stakes next time in stead use 1 lb of 10-10-10 fertilize per inch of trunk diameter scattered around the trees and watered in good The stakes seem to concentrate too much fertilizer around roots causing damage to the roots.