I got a approval from HOA to plant 3 Layland cypress. My neighbor has similar problem. He is going to plant Layland cypress this week.

I checked out my neighborhood. Some of the plants I observed are:

Cans one tell type of the plant in second picture. There are some info on web about some disease killing lot of Leyland cypress in DFW. Is it still prevalent. Looks like a idle in terms of hedge and growing tall quickly.

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1160/ANR-1160.pdf

Leyland cypress grow fast, get ugly fast. Green Giants grow 2-3 feet a year and are single leader and look great when they mature. If you Google 'Green Giant' on the conifer forum you will see that it is pretty much a consensus if you want quick growth. I have a couple of Leyland's and a lot of Green Giants; none of much size yet.

Thanks Jon. I got HOA approval for 3 Leyland cypress. My neighbor who has similar situation with multiple windows to screen, bought some. He got me 2. He has some one to plant for cheap. I am going to plant 2 Leyland cypress. Is it good idea to plant them 5' from fence and keep 8' gap between two.

Every one says, it is difficult with green giant in DFW heat. GG is the one I am thinking about all along. But Layland cypress seems to be very common here. Do you think, it is a terrible mistake. As long as they don't get too big and any disease, I am fine.

Thanks for your feedback.

Thanks emmarene for Hollywood juniper. I am going to check it out. I am gong to plant one or two something other than Leyland cypress. is chinese juniper good choice as well. I have seen some keteleri version of chinese junipers sold in big box stores. According to lable, they grows as tall as GG and leyland cypress. They do not get that wide either. Looks like a idle plant for me.

Hi,

I am also planning to get one or two crepe myrtle plants (tree like) in between. So,we will have thick trees/shrubs covering that whole corner area and some moving space for kids. Probably,we have to give up 15' X 15' space in the corner for these plants. There are different colors of crepe myrtles available (white, pink. light pink, red and purple). So far, white ones seems to be really growing thick and bigger green leaves. Any recommendations which one is good to get for growing in tree form.

Thanks

Consider how much you need privacy during the winter months. If filtered privacy of twigs and branches would work during the cold period, then crape myrtles alone might be sufficient. They would give you total privacy during the warm season. If you mix the with evergreens, it's likely you will end up with a bit of a mess. The crapes will shade the lower foliage of evergreens, causing it to become thin and eventually bare.

Thanks Yardvaark. I planed two of these Leyland Cypress. I spent around $100 on these. After reading some comments here, I am kinda undecided now. I am hesitating to remove these. At the same time, I am looking for alternatives. That is the reason I am thinking about planting crepe myrtle in front of them as a back up.

hanks

In order to know if things planted together are compatible, you'd need to project their future size and placement and see if one thing gets in the way of others. Doesn't look like a huge amount of room here so determine where you'll place things and see if it works.

" As long as they don't get too big and any disease, I am fine."

How big is "too big"? Leylands could certainly get big - they are a very fast growing tree and if grown in conditions they like, can easily hit 60'+. However, I'm not sure they will be around long enough to become much of a height concern. Leylands can have a lot of issues in hot, humid climates like the DC area and south. A couple of untreatable fungal blights/cankers generally decimate the trees after about 10 years. They are also prone to bag worms.

I am not sure why the Green Giants would not be considered a better choice. They were developed by the US National Arboretum in DC, so obviously can handle the heat and humidity. Far less disease issues than the Leylands but can get equally as large in time. It is the recommended privacy screening replacement tree for Leylands in the south.

This is how I planted them:

http://st.houzz.com/simgs/64f210ed05864c33_8-4804/home-design.jpg

http://st.houzz.com/simgs/d9823bdc05864c37_8-4820/home-design.jpg

Looks like Green giants are also nice. Not sure if they survive Texas/DFW heat. Looks like, I am better of getting couple of crepe myrtles. What I noticed is, while flower one stays green util November and starts getting green by March. According to label on juniper keteleeri plants in store(chinese juniper), they grow taller like Leyland cypress and they don't get too much wide (upright).

I already spent money on planting two of these Leyland cypress. Not sure if it is wroth to remove and start over again.