Leyland Cypress

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The tree in the photo is a Leyland cypress tree. Part of it anyway. This Leyland cypress tree was so big that the whole thing would not fit in one photo and still be able to show the measuring in progress.


This tree was planted 21 years before the day this photo was taken. That means it is about 25 years old as seen here. The trunk is 30” in diameter - minimum – where the measuring tape is positioned. The canopy (not shown) was 45' wide.

To prune this tree for more light and more head-room, 2 hours were required for cutting and clean-up. That is a tremendous amount of time in general, compared to other types of trees of the same age. If MONEY GROWS ON TREES then this is the tree that grows money. But the only people it grows money for are tree services.

Leyland cypress trees bring back memories of another tree that used to be popular in Oregon decades ago: the Port Orford cedar. The Port Orford cedar was planted in Portland and other Oregon cities by the thousands; at golf courses, university campuses, parks and residential lots. It was a plant material “bandwagon” of it's day. As time passed, it became evident that Port Orford cedar has a serious problem with a disease. These trees started to die by the hundreds; even thousands. This produced (and still does produce) a lot of income generating work for tree services.

In a different way, Leyland cypress will compare to that situation. Not due to disease, but due to rate of growth and over-planting. Many people are planting Leyland cypress in groups or as hedges for a quick fill-in of foliage to gain privacy. The problem is that the hedge will need 2 to 3 times the shearing that a yew or arborvitae would require.

Other people are planting groves of Leyland cypress with no idea of how large the trees will become. The difficulty with this tree is that it grows very large in addition to being nearly the fastest growing evergreen tree that's planted in Oregon yards.

We may be able to “loosely” say two things about Leyland cypress: 1. “If money grows on trees; it grows on Leyland cypress” 2. “If there is an evergreen tree growing at lightning speed, it's Leyland cypress”

It is a decent tree:

This article is not a put-down about Leyland cypress. It's a good tree. It just needs space, good soil to anchor roots and periodic pruning. This is a “handsome” looking tree and given space, makes an impressive addition.

Regardless of how nice it looks; due to thousands of these planted too close together or in bad soil or in a small space, there will be a lot of work for tree services. Every time a Leyland cypress is planted in the wrong area, it's like planting a “LIVING BANK ACCOUNT” for an arborist or tree service. For the tree services, Leyland cypress trees may as well be giant holiday trees adorned with golden dollar sign ornaments.

Feel free to plant one if you like this tree. If your soil is good and you have the room, years of enjoyment should follow. Don't let the poor planning of other people prevent you from making a proper planning decision.

Contact Information

Phone: 503 - 626 - 1904
Email: mdvadenoforegon@juno.com