I planted two 6ft cryptomeria three years and they have done well. They are now about 10-12 ft tall. Every spring I clear a small amount of brown branches from the lower portions. This year there is more brown than usual and the top 12-15 inches of both trees are completely brown! What is going on and what should I do? Do I top them? I live in Delaware (sone 7). This winter was not atypically cold or wet.
Yes: if the leaders are really dead (crispy as well as brownish) then something bad happened. If they do not green up and grow with the rest of the plant then you will have to wait for them to throw up replacement leaders, pruning off the dead parts in the meantime. Any possible prevention of future episodes would require determining what happened exactly, seek local assistance for this.