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Emerald Isle Leyland Cypress?

15 years ago

Has anyone had any experiences with these? Seems to be a smaller version of the leyland, but I'm not sure if this is true or not...

Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: monrovia info

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Comments (3)

cultiv8er
15 years ago
I have 3 irish Eyes leylands out in the yard right now and I can't decide whether to plant them. I haven't been able to find much info on them online, maybe they're a new variety. But I am desperate for screening on a smallish (.20-acre) lot because the lot behind mine was clear-cut and now has a hulking 4000-sq-ft beige McMansion on it. :-/ I thought I could get away without having an evergreen wall, but considering I need screening and also that all my other plants look sort of adrift without a background hedge, it's looking more and more like I will be putting my Irish Eyes in and hoping they don't take off like crazy!
cascadians
15 years ago
I've planted 2 young Emerald Isle Leylands, 1 in ground 2 years, 1 1 year. They are both doing well. Both are in partial shade and will have to adapt to shade for their entire lives.

Both have really shot up this fall. Their color is bright happy green.

Have many other types of leylands, straights, naylors blues, lots of castlewellans, a spectacular Silver Dust.

Bought the Emerald Isles for the bright cheerful green color and smaller eventual maturity.

So far so good :-) Leylands take well to judicious pruning so they can be shaped and trained in the landscape. Eventually they can get very large.

Mine (babies) have enjoyed summer sprinkler watering at night and slow-release mild fertilizer. The neighbor has some older ones (5 years) that already do not want as much water.

A lot of ppl dislike leylands but I love them. Mine are fast and healthy. I've pruned an older one and it has healed well.
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"There aren't any dwarf Leylands! Anyway, I don't think they deserve any fairness ;-) Resin " Both unsubstantiated claims with no hard evidence! You surely can't be serious! Not verified, and very improbable! Not a safe assumption, and no evidence for it! No reason why that should be at all! JK ;-D Yeah your right Resin, I don't think there are dwarf ones but there are slower growing cultivars such as 'Moncal' (Emerald Isle Leyland Cypress) which is reported to grow 30% less in growth rate from what I've read. It Grows pretty fast to around 20 or 30' (6-9m) then slows down and eventually reaches a height of 50 to 60 (15-18m) sometimes up to around 70 feet (21m) so it reaches about half of the common Leyland size. People that buy Leyland Cypress trees better make sure they have lots of room unless they are going to regularly trim them, and in many places they are short lived, especially in places with hot summers which most will only live 20 or 25 years because of diseases and other problems. Also many of them can out grow their root system and they can have a tendency of blowing over when they reach a large size.
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Due to the recent prevalence of diseases and pests with Leylands, I would hesitate to suggest them. The preferred substitute, at the moment, is an arborvitae, either Thuja plicata x standishi 'Green Giant' , matures at 30-50' x 10-20', or 'Steeplechase', which is supposed to be an improved slection of 'GG', or T. occidentalis 'Smaragd' (a.k.a. 'Emerald Green' or 'Emerald Beauty'), maturing at 10-15' x 3-4'. Which you choose is up to you, depending on how tall you want this barrier to be. There are also several other cultivars of Thuja which should grow to be good screens - check and see what is available in your area. There is also, since you will want a LOT of trees, the option of checking with the NC Forestry Dep't - they will have a variety of trees for sale, at a good price for quantities - fairly small, but they will grow the faster with less care. I am not sure what they would have available for when - it may be that the greater selection would be for spring planting, but you should still be able to plant through the beginning of Nov.. Depending on your location, almost any of the pines should work, as should a mix of deciduous hardwoods and conifers - which would be less of a great green wall, and more like a 'natural' forest, especially if planted in staggered rows of two or three or more.
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Ken - Yes you were right. They were cheaper, easier to work with and will establish with less stress and grow faster. BUT - this is the only spot on my whole property (1/3rd of an acre) that actually gets mostly consistent "full" sun. The other areas where I put the 8 footers really needed the height in order to ensure that the sun would hit them in the first place. Three things I have learned from spending time on here: 1. Enough with the god damn arborvitaes and leylands. 2. Plant as small and young as possible. 3. Plan ahead and provide space for future growth. THANK YOU. So about those Eastern Red Cedars...they are native to my area, I see them hiking around the area all the time. What's wrong with putting them in a different spot on my property? Is cedar rust that prevalent? Are they that ugly? I am tired of planting non-native conifers. It's a disservice to nature. I want to support the local ecosystem. Any thoughts here are appreciated.
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I think many conifers grow very slowly. Pine trees are the exception. They grow very fast. You may consider those, but they are wayyyyyy more than 20ft. Another fast growing conifer is the Witchita Blue Juniper. It will get 4-8 ft wide and 15-20 ft tall. If you plant them, make sure to plant 4 feet next to each other. It can be used as a screen or a windbreak and will need no pruning. It also has appealing color. Goodluck with what ever you choose.
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Embothrium
15 years ago
'Moncal' originated in Britain and probably has an earlier name still in use there. If you see what appears to be the same plant described by British sources you can probably then find out about performance of older plantings there. There is a tall sheared hedge of what looks like 'Moncal' near me, it may be somewhat less vigorous than usual but is clearly still likely to produce a tall tree under suitable conditions. In an ordinary setting there is not much difference between a 100' tree and a 60' one, both are likely to be out-of-scale.

Nurseries have a habit of making out cultivars with no visible dwarf characteristics to have mature sizes considerably smaller than usual for the species.

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