it will.. but it will take years ...

and i dont like it that close to the a/c regardless ...

if you want to confirm the ID.. the peeps would need a closeup of the needles ...

i bet it was a large transplant.. that was not properly watered after such ... and perhaps.. not properly planted... [i mention such.. since it was the prior owner]

ken

Yes, it's a threadleaf Chamaecyparis pisifera. See the weeping habit OP? It will fill in again as those branches grow to the ground area. It does make me wonder why the dead branches, however, and will it occur again.

Dax

Yes, it will fill in pretty quick, but as Ken alluded, it will eat that side of the house. First a/c unit for sure and perhaps the second as well. It will be hindering air flow quickly too.

tj

I would also venture to say one of the key factors in why the bottom died back is due to the extreme heat being generated by that first air unit. The intake of the unit is pulling all that heat in the atmosphere around it right through the plant and then the exhaust is blowing the air right back into it again, even hotter.

I can understand the desire to cover the view of the units with an evergreen so the leaves won't block the units air vents, but you've got to get something more vertical and not locate it quite so close so the unit can get better circulation and breath better, saving you electricity in the long run.

mark

Thanks everyone for comments and help with the ID. I'm not sure when the branches died, but it was definitely before we put the a/c units in last fall. I really wish I had somewhere else to put them, but that was the only spot.

Since I do like the cypress and I'd like to give it a chance, I'm thinking maybe the best strategy is to put a trellis around the a/c units and plant some climbing vines (maybe euonymus???) around the trellis to create a green backdrop. That might reduce the visual impact of the holes in the cypress.