Unknown evergreen getting leggy

[RoadManDenDron]

I have this unknown evergreen I think maybe cypress 'goldcrest' but I don't remember

I have been growing it out but recently noticing the interior branches are getting bare and brown

I do not know how to chase back foliage on these or how to prevent this from happening whilst still 'growing out' and thickening the trunk

Close up of foliage to help with identification

 

[Shibui]

The only way I know of is to regularly trim back to the shortest branchlets and regrow the branches. My evergreens are developed through a series of grow and chop cycles to maintain useful inner and lower growth.
Trimming may slow trunk thickening but the only alternative is a fat trunk with long, bare branches.
Some evergreens can sprout from bare wood but usually only where there's lots of light so, again, some trimming is required.
Removing the strong apical growth will always help lower branches regain strength.

Sorry but I cannot help with ID. So many conifers look superficially similar that it is real hard to ID with accuracy.

 

[RoadManDenDron]

@Shibui Thank you for the great advice as always!

I was lucky that many of the long branches which were dying back had new shoots at the bases so I chopped back to these in a lot of places

 

[Shibui]

Buds at the base of branches is typical of many junipers and is invaluable for reducing overgrown branching. The foliage on that tree appears to form flat pads which is more like Chamaecyparis or Thuja. Gut feeling is maybe Thuja because the foliage pads are not quite dense or flat enough for Chamaecyparis. There are quite a few golden cultivars of several species in both those genera.
I have not worked with either of those enough to know whether either or both produce buds at base of branches like that.

 

[AJL]

I agree its most likely a Thuja cultivar. If you crush and sniff the foliage Thuja usually smells fruity ,whereas Chamaecyparis smells more resinous almost like cats pee!
In my experience neither will back-bud well from the bases of branches as all the new growth is on the branch tips, unless youre lucky and have found a plant that has been regularly clipped to shape from an early age. Good luck!

 

[Cosmos]

This is a thuja, likely thuja occidentalis. Unlike it is a yellow cultivar, the foliage should be much greener, that'll come with good care. They will backbud similar to junipers, at crotches mostly and not on old bark, but I'd focus on the health first. They can become very dense and should do well in a UK climate, they like full-sun or half-shade and plenty of moisture.

 

[RoadManDenDron]

Unlike it is a yellow cultivar, the foliage should be much greener, that'll come with good care.

It was yellow when I got it but i liked it because it had fell behind the shelves in the shop giving it good movement in the trunk which is hard to see in the pics

How should I provide good care? maybe it has nutrient deficiency or something? It gets good sun most of the day

I think you are all right with thuja, definitely rings a bell thank you!

 

[Cosmos]

It was yellow when I got it but i liked it because it had fell behind the shelves in the shop giving it good movement in the trunk which is hard to see in the pics

How should I provide good care? maybe it has nutrient deficiency or something? It gets good sun most of the day

I think you are all right with thuja, definitely rings a bell thank you!

What kind of substrate is it in? The drier the substrate, the more you need to water, they really love staying moist at the roots. Do you fertilize the tree?

 

[RoadManDenDron]

Its actually still in the nursery soil and is ready for a repot in spring. The roots have escaped to under the soil and circled the bottom of the container, I was going to repot in a much more free draining soil much like my pines so thank you for the information about liking moist, I admit I often let it dry out between watering thinking I was helping.

The sides are open with mesh for air pruning but I have not worked the roots yet.

I think it seemed greener yesterday after a fulvic and kelp foliar, and I have fed it sporadically with organic 5-5-5 and recently humic and kelp soil drench.

We had serious wind last night and it was blown from the new bench and out of its pot and today it seems much yellower again