leyland cypress
Return to Discussionsthe way my yard slopse the only way i knew to create some privacy was to plant 32 leyland cypress trees around the perimeter of my back yard, luckily my neighbor to back has some and neighbor next door has a row too. i've heard good and bad but they grow fast and can add some cheap screening but as most are doing great 3-4 have turned brown and i don't know if its because they sit in a wet area or they aren't taking as these aren't growing either. in spring i may pull them and replace them with some 3 gallon starters .
there are some great articles on Bamboo and actually that was my first choice but it would have to be alot to be thick enough to screen i think plus there are two kinds invasive and non-invasive and i would want the invasive so it would spread but than you need a under ground barrier to keep it from spread to and pissing off the neighbors. at our local grocery store they have a good size patch of it but i can see though most of it. makes good cane poles though.
It is best to keep them trimmed and in good soil they can grow 3 feet a year and sky in the limit ie after 12 years of planting they could be 30' high. Our next door had some approx 75 feet when she had them taken down. Another thing by not trimming with the sides sloping in to the top is over the years the bottom will get bare so your bare bottom might be able to be seen. So it is best to stop them at the height you want them and trim the sides and tops every year, and in the winter as the foliage will turn brown if done in the summer. Also if you cut into old wood they will never re shoot again so be bare patches in the hedge.
I hope this is of use to you.