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Florida Gardening

tell me about your Leyland Cypress

16 years ago

I saw these at the Master Garderner's Plant Faire and loved them . Unfortunately , all had been sold but I found where I could buy more .

Am I asking for trouble ? The write up makes them sound like monsters .

Do they really get to be 100 feet tall ? If they are so great , why haven't I seen any around ?

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Comments (5)

solstice98
16 years ago
I've seen these for sale too and they are very attractive. But the "fast growing" thing always scares me a little because it often means "fast growing, then rapidly declining". I looked it up (I'm sure you did this too) and found good information at the link below. Sorry I don't have an direct experience with the tree, but I thought the comments at the link were pretty interesting.

Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: Leyland Cypress Comments
gatormomx2
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you for the link . No , I did not look it up . Sounds mighty scary to me ! I believe I might rethink this tree as a choice .
I need something that will grow fairly fast and be a good wind break and road noise barrier for a large amount of area . I planted Viburnum four years ago but the bushes are not growing as quickly as I had hoped due to more than 2 years of drought . Some are over 8 feet tall and look great now . Guess I will just have to be patient .
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I am still a novice in this field and have learned a lot of what i know from these forums. That said i can speak specifically to your question. Over the last 4 years i have planted a lot of trees at the rear of my property to screen an unsightly parkway. Like you my objective is/was fast growing,low cost, dear resistent. I have planted mostly green giants and leyland Cypress, some smaller from big box stores and some large 6/7 footers with huge rootballs from a professional nursery. My observations are as follows....... The cypress start out slow and then accelerate rapidly, the deer have nibbled on them from time to time but nothing drastic. The " single leader" theory mentioned above comes into play, because mine are not single the snow can create splitting problems. The GG grow reasonably fast at a consistant rate. The deer have never touched them, supposedly they are considered somewhat deer resistent, so i have been told? Some 2/3 footers i planted 4 years ago are just now starting to become "reasonable screen" if you want immediate results i would go with 6/7 foot GG from a professional nursery because you might not find them in the big box. I WOULD NOT go with the emerald green if you have a deer problem because based on what i have wittnessed from my neighbors trees they are number ONE on the deers choice list. Please note i am in southern new york state zone 6 ? And everything i have planted is in good soil AND in a sun drenched area, i do not beleive any of the afforementioned will flourish in limited sun. I have fould my best deals in the big box stores late in the fall planting season. As mentioned above bamboo might also be an option but i have found that to be ridiculously EXPENSIVE. Perhaps the more experienced members might have something to add. On that note..... Is it possible to train a Cypress into a single leader? (Also- i realize that this is not the proper forum but i am interested in some sort of annual that will climb on lattice and does not need a lot of sun, morning glory was mentioned above, i would like to learn more, could you please direct to proper area? ) Thanks
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Lots of good comments in here and not to hijack this but I just finished our new home and looking for something full that I can plant about 3' from house corners between hoise and sidewalk. Something that I can keep prunned @ about 10' tall. Love the look of the leyland but after reading here wondering if its a good idea and what are some better options. The house has a block foundation which sounds like is not a good idea for leylands even if they have small root system. I'm also wanting to plant them @ the corners of a back deck that is 10' away from house. The deck is about 5' high so wanted something that would grow tall enough to provide some shade and windscreen on the deck. We are on a hill and do have some higher winds. Any advice?
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Thanks all! ...interesting that they aren't Leyland Cypress after all. so the big reason to not let them continue to grow (after the die-out possibility, which doesn't sound lovely) is they are already getting way too big. Somewhere between 20-30' tall currently and like I mentioned, width-wise they are stretching onto neighbor's property. Mowing the lawn is getting to be a bit of a pain for him I'm sure, and his little stretch of grass that runs between his house and the trees is dwindling. Our thought process is, if something isn't done now it's only going to get more difficult later. I suppose we could try hollies-- I've.been to McLean's and thought it a cool place... but I don't particularly like holly. So pointy! Kids run around there for hide and seek... though I guess them finding a different place to do that isn't necessarily a bad thing : ) I'll run it by the Mr though... that may be something worth checking into. I have some reading to do first, I know nothing about holly! thanks again guys! Nicole
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solstice98
16 years ago
Patient?!? What's that? LOL. Not my best quality either!

Although I always ask here too (because real Florida experience is more important and valuable than some on-line database), I often look up plants at Dave's Garden and at Floridata. Both are good resources for base information.

Kate
bchgarden
16 years ago
Oh....I love my Leylands! They do get big and they do grow fast, though. I planted 3 in a row about 4 years ago (they were about 3 ft. high and in pots) and they are now about 15' high. I wanted a privacy screen in the back yard and they are perfect. My neighbor has a row that she planted about 8 years ago and they are huge--25-30' high. I don't worry about the height, but the width can take up a lot of room. If you want a narrow tree/privacy screen then the leyland is not what you want. But I love that it's evergreen and mine have shown no sign of decline or disease. They just keep on growing!
gatormomx2
Original Author
16 years ago
I did read where it is recommended that these trees be planted 45 feet apart . I am guessing that they grow with a round base and cone shape which means 45 feet from the fence line too ? Yikes !
Is a 50 to 100 foot Leyland Cypress tree susceptible to damage from storms ?
Maybe this is not exactly the tree for me . Anything similar that has a slightly narrower growth pattern ?

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