Tree · Cupressaceae
Leyland Cypress
Cupressus × leylandii
Give it room to breathe and steady water, and this fast evergreen throws up a privacy wall in just a few years.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 6–10
40–70 ft · 12.2–21.3 m
Overview
Want a green wall and want it soon? Leyland cypress is the tree people grab for exactly that. It's a fast-growing evergreen, an accidental cross between Monterey cypress and Nootka cypress, and it can shoot up several feet a year into a dense, feathery column. That speed is the whole draw, and here's the thing, it's also where most of the tree's trouble comes from.
The catch is that this is a short-lived, disease-prone tree, and the way most people plant it just makes things harder. Squeeze it into a tight row as one long single-species hedge and the trees crowd each other, the air goes still, and cankers and root rot show up. Give each one real space, though, and it'll outlast a crammed, neglected screen by a long shot.
Treat it like a proper landscape tree instead of a quick fix and it really does deliver. It handles all sorts of soils, takes shearing into a neat shape, and asks for hardly anything once it settles in. Spacing, drainage, and a good drink in dry spells are what separate a screen that thrives from one that thins out, and none of that's hard to get right.
Care
The short version: full sun, well-drained soil, and plenty of room between plants. Water deeply in dry spells, prune only when it's dry out, and don't give in to the urge to cram the trees together.
Light
Leyland cypress does best in full sun, which keeps the canopy nice and full all the way around. It'll put up with partial sun or light shade, but a shaded side tends to thin out and brown sooner, and wouldn't you know it, that's right where needle blight likes to start.
Water
Once it's settled in it copes with drought just fine, but here's the catch, drought stress is exactly what sets off deadly canker, so don't let it go bone dry. When things get dry, water deeply every 7 to 14 days, and pay extra attention to young trees and any plant that's crowded or already having a rough time.
Soil
This tree's easygoing about soil, taking loam, clay, or sand across a wide pH of 5.0 to 8.0. The one thing it won't stand for is poor drainage, since soggy ground brings on root rot, so loosen up heavy clay before you plant.
Temperature
It's both cold-hardy and heat-tolerant, holding up anywhere from about -9°F to 100°F (-23°C to 38°C). That covers a whole lot of climates, though watch out, because ice and freeze injury can crack the bark and give canker a way in.
Humidity
Everyday outdoor humidity suits it fine, so there's nothing to fuss with there. What matters way more is air moving through the canopy, because still, damp air around crowded plants is what feeds those foliage diseases.
Feeding
Feed it lightly in spring if you feed it at all, using a balanced complete fertilizer. Grown trees hardly ever need any, and pushing soft, fast growth with extra nitrogen honestly doesn't do the tree any favors.
Pruning
Prune only when it's dry out, since wet cuts help disease spread, and the tree takes shearing well for a formal screen. When you're cutting out cankered or diseased branches, go several inches below the damage and wipe your tools with 10 percent bleach or alcohol between cuts.
Repotting
This is a landscape tree, not a container plant, so it's rarely potted up. If you're keeping a young one in a nursery pot, move it on before the roots start circling and growth stalls, then get it into the ground where it belongs.
Size & spacing
Left alone, it climbs to a whopping 40 to 70 feet (12 to 21 m) tall and spreads 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) wide. Those numbers are exactly why spacing matters so much, so give each tree real room from the next one so air can move through and disease stays down.
When to plant
You don't need to stress about timing, since you're setting out a nursery tree rather than sowing seed. Plant in spring or fall while the soil's easy to work and the weather's mild, and give the roots a chance to settle before the next round of heat or hard cold rolls in.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: spring or fall
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 6–10
Temperature: down to -23°C
Troubleshooting
Just about every Leyland cypress problem comes back to one thing: trees planted too close in the wrong spot. Keep an eye on the lower and inner branches, since that's where canker, blight, and root rot tend to show up first. Find what matches what you're seeing below, then jump on it early, because once the serious diseases spread, there's no curing them.
A whole branch going rust-brown with sunken, weeping spots on the bark
If a whole branch turns rust-brown over sunken, weeping bark, you're most likely looking at Seiridium or Botryosphaeria canker, and it's the thing that kills more of these trees than anything else. The fungi sneak in through little bark wounds, and they move fastest on trees that are thirsty or hemmed in by neighbors. So what can you do? There's no spray that fixes it, but you can prune well below each canker, wipe your tools between cuts, and keep the tree watered and roomy.
Fix:
- Prune out infected branches several inches below the canker and destroy them
- Disinfect pruning tools with 10 percent bleach or alcohol between every cut
- Reduce stress by deep watering during drought and mulching beyond the lowest limbs
- Remove severely declined trees as there is no chemical cure
A stunted, off-color tree that's struggling in wet ground
Foliage that goes yellow, purple, or tan while the tree thins out and the roots rot? That's usually Phytophthora root rot, and it comes from wet, packed-down soil. Young trees take it the hardest. Once the roots have rotted there's no bringing it back, so dig the tree out, destroy it, sort out the drainage, and don't put another Leyland cypress in the same hole.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected plants and do not replant Leyland cypress in the same spot
- Improve drainage and amend heavy clay with organic matter
- Avoid overwatering and waterlogged sites
Browning that kicks off deep inside the tree and works its way out
When the browning starts down low and deep inside the tree and only the tips stay green, that's usually Passalora needle blight. It travels on splashing rain and hangs around wherever the foliage stays wet, so guess which trees get hit hardest? The crowded, shady ones. Thin things out for airflow, water at the roots instead of overhead, and snip off the worst branches.
Fix:
- Space and thin plantings to improve airflow and reduce leaf wetness
- Switch to drip irrigation or water early in the morning, avoiding overhead watering
- Prune out and destroy diseased branches
- Apply a labeled fungicide (e.g., thiophanate-methyl or myclobutanil) preventively from late spring through summer if needed
Little spindle-shaped bags dangling from thinning branches
See those 1 to 2 inch (2.5 to 5 cm) silk bags decked out in bits of foliage? Those are bagworms, and the caterpillars tucked inside can nibble a branch clean. The easy fix is to pull the bags off through winter and early spring, before the eggs get a chance to hatch. Catch the larvae while they're still small and a bit of Bt sorts them out.
Fix:
- Hand-pick and destroy bags in winter and early spring
- Apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) when larvae are small in spring
- Use a labeled contact insecticide for heavy mature infestations
Needles flecked yellow and turning bronze under a bit of webbing
Fine yellow flecking that shifts toward a bronze look, often with a little webbing, usually means spruce spider mites. Here's the funny part: they do their damage in the cool of spring and fall, not the heat of summer. Just hit them with a hard spray of water, or reach for insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, and steer clear of broad insecticides, since those wipe out the good bugs that keep the mites down.
Fix:
- Spray plants forcefully with water to dislodge mites
- Apply insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, or neem oil
- Avoid broad-spectrum insecticides that kill predatory mites
Toxicity
Good news if you've got pets or kids: Leyland cypress is not toxic. No part of the tree poisons cats, dogs, horses, or people, so it's an easy pick for a yard with animals and children running around. The one real catch is for your hands, since the foliage can irritate skin, so throw on some gloves when you prune.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
No need to worry about the cat here, since Leyland cypress is not toxic to cats and a curious nibble won't poison one. Now, if a cat scarfs down a big pile of any plant, it might bring it back up or feel a little off for a bit, but honestly that's true of just about anything green.
Dogs Safe
Dogs can hang around this tree just fine, because there's no known toxin in it. The only thing worth watching is a dog that chews and swallows a bunch of woody foliage, which can lead to a mild, passing bit of tummy trouble.
Horses Safe
Horses can graze right next to a Leyland cypress with nothing to worry about. Unlike some of the truly poisonous evergreens out there, this hybrid just doesn't carry a toxin that'll hurt them.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits are safe around the foliage, and a stray bite won't do them any harm. It's not really something they want to eat anyway, so they mostly just leave it alone.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can share a pasture edge with this tree, and there's no poison in it for any of them. Grazing animals usually skip the resinous foliage and go for the grass instead.
Birds Safe
Birds can nest and shelter in that thick canopy with no danger at all. Nothing in the foliage or the bark they peck at is going to hurt them.
People Safe
No part of the tree poisons people, so it's safe to grow around kids. The one catch is your skin, not your stomach: handling the foliage can bring on contact dermatitis for some folks, so pop on some gloves before you prune.
Wear gloves when pruning or handling foliage to avoid skin irritation.
Varieties
Most of the Leyland cypress you'll find sold for screens is one of a handful of named types, told apart mostly by color and shape. Here are the ones you're most likely to run into at the nursery.
Leighton Green
This is the old reliable, a tall, dense, columnar tree in deep green that southern growers grab when they want a quick screen or a Christmas tree they've grown themselves.
Castlewellan
This one's a bit more compact, and its gold-tipped foliage turns its brightest yellow right through fall, winter, and spring.
Naylor's Blue
This is a looser, more open column with soft blue-gray foliage, and it grows just a touch slower than the rest.
Murray
This one's a tough, vigorous dark green type that's grown a lot like the standard when you want a privacy wall up in a hurry.
How to propagate
Since it's a sterile hybrid, you can't grow this one true from seed, so every new plant is really just a copy taken off an existing tree.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Late summer to fall (semi-hardwood cuttings) · Several weeks to months to root
Since it's a sterile hybrid, seed won't give you the same tree, so cuttings are the way to go. Take semi-hardwood cuttings from late summer into fall, and don't rush it, because they can take several weeks to a few months to root.
GraftingDemanding
Dormant season · Weeks to months
Some folks graft it during the dormant season, with the union knitting together over weeks to months. It's a fiddly job, though, and you'll see it a lot less often than plain rooted cuttings for landscape stock.
Myths
Leyland cypress is a totally hands-off, plant-it-and-forget-it instant hedge.
Sure, it grows fast, but it's short-lived and catches disease easily, and it really suffers when it's jammed in tight as a single-species wall. Crowd it and let it get thirsty, and you're inviting Seiridium and Botryosphaeria cankers, needle blight, and root rot, plus those shallow roots mean a big tree can topple in a storm. Give it real room and steady water, or you've signed up for a high-maintenance screen instead of a carefree one.
You can just spray cankers and needle blight away with a fungicide.
Once a canker's got a foothold, no spray is going to cure it. The stuff that actually works is all hands-on care: prune out the sick wood, take the stress off the tree, give the planting proper space, and keep your tools clean.