Cypruss grows best in the swamps. Trust me on that one. Do not worry about the water. The occational watering will actually help the cypruss. To keep the fresh color, and keep from cracking. My house is 80 years old, and counting my boys, 5 generations of my wife's family has lived in that house. My kitchen cabinets are cypruss, and I just put a poly seal on them. This causes them to be as yellow as fresh cut pine. I would not seal it if I were you. Don't worry about the weather, my grandmother's picnic table was out in the yard, it is still like the day it was built. 1943.