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Need help planting Leyland Cypress (pics)

8 years ago

Thank you for reading my question.

How far apart should I plant these trees? I don't want them to grow to high. I really want them to eventually cover my neighbors fence that is poking over the top of mine.

How far should they be planted from the fence? I plan to shear them so they don't take over the yard.

Should I create a berm for them as well?
Thank you,

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Comments (4)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
You may want to reconsider your choice. Planting something that wants to be 60'+ tall and will get there pretty darn quickly seems to be a bit of overkill if you only need something in the 6-8' range. Yes, they can be sheared to form a formal hedge and you can keep them smaller, but it will require considerable maintenance to do so - like 3-4 times a year. OTOH, there are many other plants that will provide a similar screening effect but without the excessive and rampant growth of a Leyland. If you lets us know where you are located, we could make other suggestions.

And FWIW, depending on where in the US you might be located, Leylands can have some rather serious disease and pest issues.
wisconsitom
8 years ago
Gal, probably mostly because I live in an area where this plant is not used, I lack the hate for it that I see expressed here so often. But a debilitating pathogen issue would change my mind in a hurry. So what is this pathogen and where is this a factor? Just idle curiosity. Of course I agree that "right plant/right place" applies across the board.
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It's not often that I disagree with Embothrium, but this is such a case. I can't see any definite link between your newly planted tree leaning at the top and it suffering from potbound roots. If your entire tree was leaning after being planted for a year or so, then I would agree that improper root preparation at planting combined with poor container production practices was likely be at fault. But, that's NOT the case here! For us to know exactly what's going on in this case, and for us to be able to suggest a remedy, we need a little more information. The first thing we need to know is whether only the top portion of your tree is leaning (as you stated) or whether the entire trunk is leaning a little (from the ground up). Next, it might help to know if the tree was fine after originally being planted and then the rootball shifted or the upper portion of the trunk started leaning after a day or two, or, if the tree might have been leaning immediately after being planted. When we know more, we can start making some guesses as to what's going on. In the mean time, you might want to review the instructions in the following link. I believe you may find the information helpful. Planting a Tree or Shrub
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
The two primary issues are Seridium canker and Botryosphaeria canker but various root rots can be common as well. These seem to most prevalent where these trees are grown in the Southeast but as they are typically determined to be stress-related pathogens - like root girdling (a very common issue with container grown trees) - they could occur anywhere. They do show up here from time to time but I have not seen them to the degree they appear to be present in the South.

I quite like Leylands - when well grown and in the right location, they are an impressive, even majestic sight. But few suburban landscapes can accommodate such a large and fast growing tree, let alone an entire privacy screen of multiple plantings. I even like them trained and sheared into tight hedges but these take immense dedication from the gardener as the maintenance to keep them like this is nearly constant. And there are just so many other screening and/or hedging choices available that it seems taking on huge maintenance issues with some amazingly fast and large growing trees is just not a reasonable thing to do if you only need 6-8' or even 10' of screening coverage!!
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
8 years ago
"I plan to shear them so they don't take over the yard."

I hope you own your own cherry picker and employ a team of tree trimmers, because otherwise you are in for some serious regrets.

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