The Best Time to Plant a Leyland Cypress
Leyland cypress -- inexpensive and easy to grow -- is a popular hedge plant. The tree's astonishingly rapid development makes it a top choice for homeowners wanting a hedge yesterday. The planting period for this evergreen differs from that of deciduous trees.
Identification
Leyland cypress is a hybrid between Monterey cypress and the Alaskan cedar. This large conifer resembles a Christmas tree when young, but becomes more elongated as it gets older and taller.
Time Frame
Late fall is considered ideal for deciduous tree planting, since dormancy eases the tree's planting stress. As conifers like Leyland cypress do not go through a winter dormancy period, no benefits accrue from waiting to plant until the ground is cold.
Considerations
Leyland cypress will establish better and grow faster if planted while the soil is still warm. Ideal planting time is late summer or early autumn, according to the United States National Arboretum. This gives the tree time to develop roots before winter.
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Writer Bio
Teo Spengler is a docent with the San Francisco Botanical Garden and a staff writer with Gardening Know How. She has written hundreds of gardening and plant articles for sites like eHow Gardening, Gardening Know How and Hunker. She holds a JD in law from U.C. Berkeley, an MA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing.
