Lecher9000 wrote: : Hi,
: I've decided on Leyland Cypress as a tall "living fence" privacy : screen. I've noticed there are about 3 main varieties : green, blue, and : yellow. Looks to me like the blue and green varieties are the most dense and : best at screening completely.
: Another concern is whether I can trust the picture of the mature tree that : is attached to it, regarding how full the tree gets (having no holes to see : through).
: Anyone have any advice / experiences with their Leyland Cypress to : relate ?
They will get very big, very fast. If you want to maintain them as a high hedge, they take considerable maintenance. Left unchecked and in a favorable climate, they grow huge, shading gardens, darkening horizons. They can end up making life gloomier fo you and possibly for your neighbors. Drive around town a look at the number of houses darkened by overgrown evergreens. There, but for the grace of regular hedge-trimming, go you in 10 years.
Before you plant any hedge, make sure you have sufficient space, especially width and overhead clearance. If you are planning to maintain it at a certain height, get a realistic idea of the maintenance requirements. Not everyone can manage their own tall hedge that requires working on a ladder with power tools, so you may need to budget for annual maintenance. Neglecting a high maintenance hedge does make it low maintenance :) but it's better to choose a plants for a low-maintenance hedge in the first place.
With Leyland Cypress and others screening plants that eventually get very tall, make sure you are planting well away from residences. Look ahead
10-15 years, will you eventually be shading your own house and garden space and/or that of your neighbors? Keep in mind that any hedge on a boundary between properties will add a burden of hedge maintenance for your neighbors, too.
-- Karen
The Garden Gate
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