Newbie leyland question

[Mike]

We recently (about a week ago) had some 12' leyland cyprus trees planted as a screen between us and our neighbor. Unfortunately, the landscaper who planted them didn't leave any instructions on care and I'm having trouble finding them online. Any advice from people in here would be appreciated. We live in southern NJ. Some tips are turning brown...is this normal? Or is this from over or under watering?

Also....while looking for care tips for these trees I came across a bunch of posts basically ripping Leylands and stating to never plant them anywhere near a house...needless to say I'm a little concerned. Our neighbor's house is about 80' directly behind us and we planted a row of 5 trees between us as a screen...they've been planted about 10' apart center to center. Are these going to grow too large for this area? Can they be easily controlled by pruning? Any help/advice would be appreciated.

[David J Bockman]

10' on center is a very good spacing.

Until the root systems get established, they'll need supplemental watering for the first year. They're fairly trouble free, with occassional attacks of bagworm if they are too dry. Tips should not be browing out, no.

Dave

[Mike LaMana]

Leylands can do well in our area. The browning is almost certainly a low-grade winter burn. You should be OK with the size vs. the area you've described. lack of instructions is unfortunately par-for-the-course IMO. I am in Toms River NJ. You can email off my website with questions. Mike