bnd777 wrote in message ...
No Leylandi is ever dwarf
but ALL conifers die from the ground upwards hence the brown branches
equally light deprivation causes die back

That's true, must be a different cupressus, and there are many dwarf
ones, but they are definitely NOT leylandii. lack of water would seem to
be the answer, something that has affected many tub based plants
recently, and the problem with conifers is that they tend not to show
the damage until a few weeks after it has happened due to being
evergreen. Keep watering it, but I suspect that you may well lose it.

Mike
www.british-naturism.org.uk