When I recently bought a new House in the leafy Streets of suburbia all seemed well at first. There was however just one small problem, and that was the Garden. The Garden to the rear of the Property was waist high (well, ok I'm only a midget, but that's still pretty high) with overgrown Plants and Weeds. However, I convinced myself that this was not a major problem. After living in a City Centre Apartment block for the last couple of years with no Garden at all I foolishly looked upon this a challenge, and hastily began hacking away at the overgrown Shrubs until they were reduced to an acceptable height.
I stood back and gazed upon my Garden opening up in front of me, with a certain sense of pride and achievement, but it was at that moment that I suddenly spotted something quite horrible and disturbing lurking at the bottom of my Garden behind the Garage. It was the stuff that Gardener's nightmares are made of….I am of course talking about Leylandi, or to be more specific a ubiquitous evergreen called Cupressos Leylandii.
THE 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 on his Estate and found that the new variety that he had created was incredibly fast growing and perfect as a Hedging Plant and a to form a sheltered boundary for his land.
However it was not until as recently 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 grow your own Leylandi from a cutting then cut off a small piece of half-ripe wood, approximately 7cm long with a heel. This is best done in July/August. Plant the heel of this cutting directly into a pot of sandy soil and place it within a humid frame. The cutting will take almost immediately but should be left until the following Spring when side growths will begin to appear in March. Once the Plant is a few inches tall it can then be transplanted directly into the Garden.
They tend to prefer a moist, fertile Soil but they can grow even in Soil, which is low in nutrients, and often thrive in a Sandy Soil. Unlike many other Plants they can also survive Soils with a very high Calcium content and they are incredibly resistant to Wind. Leylandi can even tolerate Salt laden Winds and constant Maritime exposure.
APPEARANCE
Leyland are Green in colour with a feathered, uniform foliage that gives the Plant a fine textured appearance. Some varieties develop a Bluish tinge, but generally speaking they tend to be a mid - dark Green colour.
The bark of the Leylandi has a flaky, scaly appearance and is Reddish Brown in colour. All Leylandi are either Male or Female and the Female Trees bear a small Brown cone-like Fruit during the Autumn.
One of the main features of Leylandi is the speed of growth and a Plant can quite easily grow over 3 feet a year, even without any tender loving care. A fully grown Leylandi can reach up to 80 feet with a spread of 20 feet.
THE ADVANTAGES
The main advantages of Leylandi are that it is very easy to grow and will quite often grow where very little else will. The speed at which it grows makes it ideal to use as hedging or a windbreak along a boundary, and the dense foliage creates an ambience of privacy.
Leylandi is also one the few Plants that is virtually resistant to Pests and Diseases.
THE DISADVANTAGES
The disadvantages are that the speed of growth can often mean that the Plant quickly gets out of control. In recent years Leylandi has been one of the most common causes of neighbourly disputes in the UK, and this has even led to Leylandi legalisation being passed in Parliament.
Leylandi are very aggressive and will quickly drive out native species, draining the Soil of essential nutrients. They also have very dense foliage which supports virtually no Wildlife. Unlike native Hawthorn Hedgerows and even to some extent Privet Leylandi is virtually impossible for Birds to build a nest in.
CONCLUSION
Overall I think that the Leylandi is actually quite an attractive looking Plant and the fact that it is an evergreen makes it particularly attractive in the Wintertime when the feather like leaves are dusted with Snow.
However it can also become a nuisance very quickly and therefore it should be cut back at the end of every growing Season, failing to do this will not only put on a strain on the relationship with your neighbours it will also block out the daylight into your property and slowly kill anything else that is there.
So, to summarise Leylandi can be quite beautiful, but be warned they to be constantly pruned.
Thank you for reading.
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When I moved into my current house I had a Leylandii hedge. Needless to say that its gone now.
ciaomeister1 23.06.2006 17:22
Naughty plants that cause neighbours lots of grief! These are super if well cared for, but most people leave them and then either happily hack them until they look daft or just leave them to grow. I'm not bitter ;-)
Advantages: range of plants, pleasant atmosphere, price, super tea shop attached to centre Disadvantages: getting harrassed by pensioners, you might spend a fortune
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