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They march into the local garden centre or nursery and ask "Which plant makes the quickest hedge?"
Staff tell them, perfectly honestly, that the Leylandii Cypress is the quickest growing of them all. What they don't mention is that it will grow... and grow... and grow...
Unless you ... Read review
Advantages: easy and quick to grow Disadvantages: gets out of hand quickly
Most people, when they decide they want a hedge, want it instantly.
They march into the local garden centre or nursery and ask "Which plant makes the quickest hedge?"
Staff tell them, perfectly honestly, that the Leylandii Cypress is the quickest growing of them all. What they don't mention is that it will grow... and grow... and grow...
Unless you trim it several times a year, the ... ...will rapidly exceed the height of Jack's beanstalk. No longer do you have a hedge, but you have a forest of very high trees which look so dark and gloomy that you may start feeling scared in your own garden. Your children may expect that behind the row of trees, a big bad wolf is looming, or a wicked witch or a monster.
But it's your neighbour who is looming behind those trees, harbouring murderous thoughts.
The thick, tall ... more
Most people, when they decide they want a hedge, want it instantly. They march into the local garden centre or nursery and ask "Which plant makes the quickest hedge?"
Staff tell them, perfectly honestly, that the Leylandii Cypress is the quickest growing of them all. What they don't mention is that it will grow... and grow... and grow...
Unless you trim it several times a year, the 'hedge' you've planted between your neighbour's garden and yours it will rapidly exceed the height of Jack's beanstalk. No longer do you have a hedge, but you have a forest of very high trees which look so dark and gloomy that you may start feeling scared in your own garden. Your children may expect that behind the row of trees, a big bad wolf is looming, or a wicked witch or a monster.
But it's your neighbour who is looming behind those trees, harbouring murderous thoughts. The thick, tall trees are excluding all the light from his garden. They suck all the nutrients out of the soil, so nothing will grow in that part of the garden. No sunshine reaches his windows anymore, and he has to turn on the lights indoors even on a sunny summer afterenoon.
Of course, you will be suffering all those drawbacks as well!
Perhaps you think that all this doesn't apply, because when you plant your Leylandii hedge, you're going to prune it meticulously and will never let it grow higher than three metres.
That's what everyone promises, and they mean it. But when time for cutting back comes, it's raining. You promise to do it as soon as the rain stops, but then you've hurt your back and can't find the pruning saw; by the time the saw is discovered and the back is well, aunt Agatha is coming for a visit, you're terribly tired from work, it's raining again...
Within a very short time, the trees are too high for convenient cutting. Then you think 'It's too much work to climb up on a ladder. I'll wait another year, and get a professional tree surgeon.' The following year you discover just how high the tree surgeon's fees are, and postpone the operation until you've paid off the last instalment for the three piece suite, and then there is a possibility that Uncle Albert might do it for free; but when he finally comes two years later he says they're much too high for him to tackle. Besides, he's got a bad back, it's raining, he doesn't have insurance...
When you find out how much it will cost not only to cut the trees down, but to transport them to a tip (they aren't even suitable for firewood!), you decide that it will be cheaper and more convenient to move house. Especially since the neighbours no longer speak with you.
But guess what? The presence of Leylandii cypresses in a garden reduces the property value.
What? You still want a Cupressos Leylandii (aka Cupressocyparis), or even lots of them to form a hedge?
Uhm, ok. Here's how. Just don't say I didn't warn you.
Buy the plants in bulk from a tree&shrub nursery rather than a garden centre. Cheaper still, get them from one of the online mail order shops that specialise in hedging shrubs. There are several; they advertise in the classified sections of any monthly gardening magazine.
It may be a good idea to buy a stable ladder, a chainsaw and protective shoes at the same time, as well as shade-loving plants such as ferns.
Plant the young trees about 3 meters apart. Don't worry, the branches will fill the gaps quickly.
Your hedge will start looking good as soon as it reaches a height of about 3 metres, which fortunately happens quite quickly, but please note that this is not a convenient height for trimming. About seven years from planting, it will have reached 10 meters, which is not a convenient height for trimming either.
The Leylandii or Leyland Cypress is named after a Mr Leyland who lived two centuries ago. He crossed two types of cypresses on his estate and the result was this monster. Very wisely, few people showed great interest. But then in the seventies and eighties, they became popular. Garden centres - and even garden experts like the famous Dr Hessayon - recommended the Leylandii Cypress as the 'ideal' hedging plant.
ANDVANTAGES
It does have its advantages, of course, and in the interest of a carefully balanced review I will not withold them from you.
It can withstand strong winds. It keeps strong winds out of your garden. It creates privacy. It's quite a beautiful tree. It grows quickly. It's not prone to diseases. It's easy to grow. It's cheap.
Perhaps, if, like Mr Leyland, you have a whole 'estate', especially a windswept one, to fill with plants, and if you find a gloomy-dark atmosphere inspirational or need a location for filming Haensel and Gretel, then this plant is perfect for you.
One day I'll write 'How to start a War with your Neighbours, part 2: the Sycamore.'
Advantages: Ideal For Use As A Windbreak, Grows Fast Disadvantages: Can Easily Get Out Of Control
...HISTORY OF LEYLANDI
The Leylandi (often spelt Leylandii) is generally the name given to an evergreen Plant species called the Leyland Cypress. This species is a hybrid between the Monterey Cypress, Cupressus macrocarpa, and the Nootka Cypress, Cupressus nootkatensis, which both belong to the family Cupressaceae. It is named after a Mr C J Leyland who lived in the 19th century on an Estate in Welshpool in Wales.. He crossed the two types of Cypresses ... ...as the 1970's that the Leylandi became popular in Britain. The species featured on many Gardening Programmes and was promoted as an ideal alternative to Privet and Fencing to form private Garden boundaries.
CULTIVATION
Leylandi are incredibly easy to grow from cuttings, even for the amateur Gardener, but most people still prefer to buy small, established, potted Plants from Garden Centres when they are around 12 inches high. Should you wish to ...
micksheff 22.06.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Leylandi
Advantages: privacy in the garden Disadvantages: can get out of control
Leylandi in the wrong hands is a nightmare to cope with . In the right hands and looked after like any plant it has got things in it's favour .
But it is when the plants romp away left unpruned for years on end without a check to their growth that problems can and do start.
This is a powerful tree but it only needs pruning to tame it ! Do not be afraid to cut out the growing point twice per year - once in the Spring and secondly during late summer.
... ...manageable proportions and the plant then becomes useful rather than a pain .
always take the top off to a lower height than you would like it to end up at . This way the pruning cut will not be visible and the height will be consistant .
Be wary of cutting into old darker coloured wood as this will not regrow but the new lighter coloured growth will .
Respect this plant it has it uses but do not turn your back on it for any length of time ...
Gardenex 04.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Leylandi
Advantages: Excellent screen Disadvantages: Need looking after from day one
Like everything the media gets hold of, the poor Leyland Cypress (Cupressocyparis Leylandii) has become a bit of an Aunt Sally. It's not the poor conifer which is wrong, it's the owners who don't know how to handle it. Every plant has its place. Unfortunately, Leylandii are often found in the wrong place. They need space and room to grow, and are not suitable for small gardens. Any good nursery will advise you on the best plant for your particular ... ...garden centres these days are self service plant supermarkets, with staff who barely know the difference between the leafy end and the rooty end.
You can keep Leylandii in control, and in the right hands they can make a very effective hedge no more than 5' or 6' high. Start trimming them early.
If you want a 6' hedge, trim the tops as soon as they reach 4'. Then trim again at 5'. And let them up gradually to 7', then take them back to 6'. By then ...
Aspen 04.11.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Leylandi
Advantages: Good Wall Disadvantages: Acidify the Soil
...mother to cut down her Leylandi conifers for many years now. They're too big and quite ugly, but the real reason I don't like them is they completely acidify the soil and kill or stunt almost anything else that happens to be growing next to them. She is using them as a wall to block out the neighbours, but I keep suggesting many other ways she can do this. They are not indiginous and make life for our native plants difficult or impossible. Don't ...
mls 31.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Leylandi
Leylandii really must be one of the biggest householder blights of the decade. I know, I have just cut mine down to size and I really can’t see why people have to let them grow so big.
Okay, so this is probably akin to reformed smokers condemning people who still smoke and may sound a little bit ‘holier than thou’ but let me take you through the logic.
We all like a bit of privacy and, in my case, a 30foot long Leylandii hedge over 20 foot high, ... ...lot of light, was hard to keep neat and drained the moisture out of the ground like nothing on earth.
I took a chain saw to it on Sunday (purists will say that it was the wrong time of year but who cares) and it is now 30 foot long (still) and only about 10 feet tall (it could go even lower but I am too exhausted after Sunday’s exertions). It affords all the privacy I could ever hope for and twice the amount of light now gets into the garden meaning ...
sef 22.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Leylandi
Advantages: fast growing Disadvantages: Fast growing
.
It's a good screen to your garden if you want to be private.
Some birds like dunnocks and greenfinches will nest in a cypress hedge. Other birds will use this tree for roosting.
You may use a leylandi cypress as a Christmas tree this year .Many are used to decorate our homes and offices.
Cypress wood is used to make doors and floors, the wood might be used in other places in the building of a house. The Cypress contains an oil cypressine this oil acts as a preservative and Cypress wooden items will last a long time and not rot and decay easily at
The cypress is used as our last bed; they are used to make coffins.
The Egyptians used Cypress to make the sarcophagi for mummies. Cypress wood takes ages and ages to rot. Cypress twigs are often used in the wreath ...
mumsymary 24.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Cypress
Advantages: range of plants, pleasant atmosphere, price, super tea shop attached to centre Disadvantages: getting harrassed by pensioners, you might spend a fortune
a lovely purple. They are supposed to spread like billy-oh but I bet mine die!
We bought some herbs from the herb section because we want to get them growing in the garden - we chose thyme, mint, rosemary, marjoram, and lavendar and got them planted out when we got home.
There's a house plant section that you can browse round if you need something for indoors. The variety is brilliant!
Inside also there's a section for pet food, and weedkillers and fertilisers. Very useful if you have remembered that you need some budgie food before you go home.
The conifer section is my favourite but I was not allowed to buy any today- we had already decided on hedging stuff and leylandi was not on the pass list! Both my partner and my mother enforced this rule...what a pity as I love confiers......
GOrdon Riggs sell conifers from the tiny to ...
Advantages: Loyal and lovable; Very protective Disadvantages: Drools copiously
plastic bag. Take a shovel and a bin liner instead.
Of course bloodhounds do not confine their more anti-social side to affairs of the lower intestine. They are, let us say, quite pungent. And they drool. They drool at the anticipation of food. They drool when they eat. They drool when you eat. It is safe to say that they drool pretty much all of the time. Another bloodhound habit is vigourous shaking of the head. When this is combined with the aforementioned drooling, things get interesting. Stringy saliva projectiles have been known to travel several yards. Distances of up to fiteen feet have frequently been spotted (quite literally). In the garden this is not so problematical, with prize Leylandi being festooned like christmas trees. At least it's organic. However, indoors is a different matter and being a dog, the bloodhound has little ...
Cernunnos 26.01.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Bloodhound
