The Leyland Cypress
Cupressocyparis are a hybrid between Chamaecyparis and Cupressus, the Cupressocyparis leylandii cultivars are the most popular forms. Commonly called Cupressus, Cypress as well as Conifer it is the cultivar names that distinguish the varieties.
Used widely as hedging plants as well as for taller screens and windbreaks, these fast growing evergreen trees or shrubs are widely used in a range of landscaping applications.
Cupressocyparis leylandii Varieties
- C. leylandii ‘Leighton Green’ will reach 15m, is fast growing and has attractive green foliage. Sunny position to part shade, water well when establishing, reasonably drought tolerant once established. Widely used for formal hedges as well as screens and windbreaks.
- C. leylandii ‘Castlewellan gold’ has a similar growth habit but with nice golden tips to the new foliage. It can be used as a formal hedge and requires good sun to maintain the golden look to the foliage.
- C. leylandii ‘Naylors Blue’ will reach 10m and with a grey blue tinge to the foliage is attractive. A natural weeping habit makes this a good feature tree in larger gardens. Perhaps not as upright as others.
Growing Conditions.
- Position – Full sun to a little shade.
- Soil – Humus rich well drained.
- Growth rate – Regarded as having a fast growth rate, reaching to 5m in 8 – 10 years in good conditions.
- Fertiliser – Regular slow release fertiliser in spring.
- Pruning – Generally once a year pruning is adequate to maintain size and shape as required. Trees can be left unpruned to act as specimen trees.
- If the soil becomes to dry or too wet and soggy the the leaves will start to turn brown. So both drought and soggy wet soils can cause this problem.
Cupressocyparis leylandii Landscaping Uses
With dense and rapid growth, along with being easy to prune, Cupressus Leylandii have a range of landscaping uses.
- They are when planted a privacy screen or formal hedge.
- As a specimen or background tree in a larger garden.
- To screen areas of a garden or commercial area.
- Reduce noise on busy thoroughfares.
- In rural areas they are sometimes used as a windbreak.
Cypress Leylandii Sizes
With most Cypress we suggest that for reliable growth that the best planting size is from 1 – 2 m.
Larger specimens may be available, however they can be very difficult to establish. They have heavy tops and the root systems have difficulty in re-establishing when planted bout.
Wholesale Cupressocyparis are available for sale from the following participating nurseries.
WINTER HILL TREE FARM Ph: 02 4878 9193 Fax: 02 4878 9109
NSW Southern Highlands
Retail & Wholesale. Advanced trees & hedging. Grown in pots for year-round planting. 45 litre - 1000 litre available. Great range. Great Quality. Delivery available.
www.winterhill.com.au
111 Stanhope Road Theresa Park NSW 2570
Offering a variety of sun hardy Australian natives and exotic trees, shrubs, groundcover's and perennials from semi advanced through to super advanced and semi-mature stock.
www.downesnursery.com.au
Phone: 0411 435 314
Online Retailer of Landscaping Plants, large quantities of small pot sizes up to advanced sizes & plant Sourcing.
SYDNEY | NORTHERN NSW | GOLD COAST | BRISBANE | MELBOURNE | ADELAIDE
www.egardens.com.au
email ask@plantmark.com.au
One of Australia's largest wholesale trade nurseries. Over 30,000 species available, tubestock to advanced trees, an almost unlimited choice of plants.
www.plantmark.com.au
Problems and Spacing
The Leyland Cypress is popular because it is a fast growing evergreen trees, and therefore useful in landscaping.
It does however have its problems if planted in the wrong position or conditions.
If you are pruning this plant as a hedge, prune it once a year, we suggest late spring to early summer.
Spacing can be an issue over time. If they are planted too close together they can suffer from die back. This s caused by poor air circulation and therefore foliage remaining wet, which can cause fungal diseases.
Close planting also allows disease to spread easily from one tree to the next, and you will see this in some older plantings where as tree mature the become very large and branches are intertwined. Disease them can quickly spread from one tree to the next.
The answer to this is to plant the trees in full sun where the foliage will dry, and to space them at 5 metres apart as a minimum, remembering that over time they can spread to 7m plus.
A free draining soil is essential.
These are also a shallow rooted tree, so they can be susceptible to collapse in very strong winds.