- Leyland cypress trees grow up to 3 feet a year, an extremely fast growth rate that makes these trees ideal for screens or hedges in large landscapes. When mature, trees average 50 to 70 feet tall and 12 to 20 feet wide; Leyland cypress can reach heights of 100 feet. Pruning the large trees is not practical, but Leyland cypress does respond well to pruning when young. To prune the tree, clip back branches using hand pruners to shorten the overall length of each branch, trimming back your tree.
- Leyland cypress trees benefit from pruning when they are young, during the first two to three years after planting. Pruning at this time allows the tree roots to develop a healthy infrastructure. If you skip this training, top-heavy Leyland cypress trees could blow down due to poor root development, notes University of Delaware extension agent Jay Windsor.
- This large tree is not meant for small spaces. While Leyland cypress does tolerate heavy pruning into a tall screen, it's best reserved for large lots where it can grow into its mature size, note Edward F. Gilman and Dennis G. Watson, two University of Florida horticulturists who prepared the U.S. Forest Service Fact Sheet on this tree. If you have a small lot and would need to prune the tree heavily, preventing it from reaching its mature size, consider another tree for your lot.
- Two diseases threaten Leyland cypress: a canker that can arise after drought conditions and a foliage fungus, Passalora needle blight, that turns leaves brown. If your Leyland cypress contracts these diseases, prune out infected branches. For trees with Passalora needle blight, follow the pruning with applications of fungicide that target the disease. These trees can also contract Phytopthora root rot, but there is no cure for root rot, so infected trees should be destroyed.
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