Leyland Cypresses are becoming a huge favorite for home gardeners! With their delicate, feathery foliage and lightning-fast growth, they make the ultimate privacy hedge. They also look fantastic as standalone specimen trees. Want to grow them like a pro? Check out these tips for planting and caring for your Leyland Cypress.
Leyland Cypresses Love the Spotlight
These trees thrive in full sun to partial shade. If you want that foliage color to really pop, make sure they get plenty of light.
While they are hardy enough to handle the cold, try to avoid planting them in spots that are completely whipped by winter winds without any protection.
Keep the Soil Loose and Airy
The ideal soil for a Leyland Cypress is slightly acidic to alkaline and loamy. It’s definitely worth mixing in some specialized conifer fertilizer before planting to give your soil a quality boost.
The most important thing? Drainage. These trees love loose, well-draining soil. They hate “wet feet,” so make sure water doesn’t pool around them, or you’ll risk root rot and other diseases that can kill the tree.
Planting Tips for Success
Getting the tree in the ground correctly is the most important step for a healthy life.
Here’s how to do it:
- Dig a hole in a bright, sunny spot.
- Add a drainage layer (like gravel) at the bottom to prevent standing water.
- Mix in some conifer-specific fertilizer.
- Carefully place your Leyland Cypress in the hole.
- Fill it back up with soil.
- Gently tamp down the earth with your foot to remove air pockets.
Pro tip: Make sure you don’t plant the tree any deeper than it was sitting in its original nursery pot!
Late Summer is the Sweet Spot for Planting
August and September are the prime months to get your Leyland Cypresses in the ground. You can plant them later in the fall, too, as long as the ground isn’t frozen. Just make sure they get plenty of water during those first few weeks.
Give Them Some Elbow Room
When planted as a standalone tree, the Leyland Cypress can really show off its natural shape. You can keep it looking sharp with a little pruning.
If you’re planting a privacy hedge, you’ll want to keep a planting distance of at least 15 to 20 inches (40 cm) between trees. For a solid screen, aim for about 2 to 3 trees per yard of hedging.
Think Twice Before Moving Them
You can usually transplant these cypresses within the first four years of planting. After that, it’s best to leave them where they are. They develop very strong, deep root systems that are almost impossible to dig up without causing serious damage to the tree.
