Plant library · Conifers & Evergreens
Cupressus × leylandii
Leyland Cypress is a fast-growing evergreen conifer for tall privacy screens and windbreaks. At about 60 feet tall and 20 feet wide, it belongs where its permanent height will not overwhelm nearby beds, patios, utility areas, or smaller trees. Its dense, upright outline creates a substantial year-round visual boundary, so treat it as a large structural planting rather than a narrow filler.
Use Leyland Cypress along a broad property edge, behind large planting beds, or as a long screen where there is room for both the trees and a maintenance route. Keep the row far enough from buildings, overhead lines, driveways, and paths that the mature canopy will not crowd circulation or block access for pruning. A single, straight row gives the strongest formal screen; allow the trees to develop naturally only where their eventual scale suits the site.[1][2]
Set plants 10 feet apart, center to center, for a continuous screen. Each tree can reach about 20 feet wide, so neighboring crowns may meet and overlap as the row matures; reserve depth on both sides rather than squeezing the planting against a fence or boundary. Leave a clear service side for ladders, tools, and inspection, especially where a maintained hedge line is planned.
Place this conifer in full sun, with moderately moist conditions and soil that drains well. Avoid low spots that stay wet and sites where irrigation repeatedly wets the foliage from above. Build the screen on a uniform, open strip rather than threading it through mixed bed irrigation, so water and root-zone conditions remain consistent along the row.[2][3]
Its evergreen canopy holds the screen through winter, making the row a permanent part of the garden’s shade and circulation pattern. Plan for regular trimming while the hedge is still within reach; keeping growth contained early is simpler than reducing an overgrown screen later. Retain a working strip beside the planting instead of allowing shrubs or fences to close off access.[1][4]
This is a large, rapid-growing tree that can outgrow small residential spaces and needs regular attention when used as a formal hedge. Crowded, stressed, poorly drained, or drought-affected plantings are more vulnerable to disease and insect problems. Give each tree adequate room and avoid turning a long property line into an inaccessible, tightly packed monoculture.[1][2][3]
Editorial content updated 2026-07-20.