Keeping cypress trees green and trim

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I have these 2 cypress trees in front of the house. When I trim them brown, dead leaves appear. If I let them grow they block the entry. Anyway I can keep them both green and trimmed?
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Would you post close shots of both living branches and also some of the damage.

Also, have you investigated the plants for any signs of disease or insect infestation?
 
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They are just too big for the space. I mean you are shaving them back but they need a stronger pruning and that is kinda difficult on the slower growers. @Marck can tell you serious detail if you help him. Those are really pleasant to look at, a neat idea.
 
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So I was trimming these yesterday when it was getting dark, and it's not as bad as I initially thought. First, the image in my original post is from 2016. They look worse there then what they are currently (see below images). The first 2-3 years after the original pic was taken I did not take care of the yard simply because I did not have the time. During that time, these 2 (Italian?) cypress trees grew a lot and filled out their space. The brown that you see in the first pic has become completely covered by green branches, even more green than the below pics (before I trimmed them).

I do not see any signs of disease/infestation and because of this growth, I do not believe they are diseased. What I think is going on is that the outside branches are getting plenty of sunlight and therefore stay green and healthy, whereas the inside branches are not getting sunlight and therefore die off. My thinking is to prune the inside branches and tie back the outside branches as necessary. What do you guys think?

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Any thatch and dead wood you can remove from the interior would be good for letting in light and encouraging the sprouting of latent buds. However make sure to follow each branch to its terminus first as many of the interior branches will have living growth at the top.
 
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As a foil I would say consider the thought of bonsai pruners, why they would bother, and what would they hope to gain. There is about 24 hours of youtube in front of you on how to visualize the structure and where to trim. But hey its also useful for every plant you will meet and believe it or not, some dinner conversation.

This not so random guy at Herons has a large and useful video library....

 
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As a foil I would say consider the thought of bonsai pruners, why they would bother, and what would they hope to gain. There is about 24 hours of youtube in front of you on how to visualize the structure and where to trim. But hey its also useful for every plant you will meet and believe it or not, some dinner conversation.

This not so random guy at Herons has a large and useful video library....

It's funny you should mention bonsai. I have been looking to take it up. Plenty of material to work with all the overgrown plants in my yard!
 

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