Damaged Leyland Cypress

15 years ago

Two years ago I planted a 4 foot tall Leyland. Later that year, deer destroyed the bark on the strong leader, and the leader died. Since then, the secondary branches have started to grow vigorously, but no sign of another leader developing.

Is the tree going to be forever misshapen? Is there reason to think it will be prone to breakage when it is huge? Should I replace it?

Thanks.

Featured Answer

BillMN-z4a

last year

I'd start a new post about this one Brenda.

Add some pictures and more of an explanation of the occurrence.

You'll get a lot better input than you will piggy backing your problem onto an old thread.

And welcome to the forums!

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Comments (8)

gardningrandma
15 years ago
Yes, to some degree, and yes.
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
15 years ago
Yes and yes. Cannot make the judement call for you for replacing, as we have little to no idea what you want.

Dan
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
what dan meant to ask was whether you can post a pic so we can see the situation ...

words alone will not be sufficient

the trunk of a 4 foot tall tree could be a little as one inch .. when this monster is 20 feet tall .. and has a 8 to 12 inch trunk.. odds are it will not be weak ... nor appear to be all that mis-shapen [because as the leaves/needles start to fill it all in.. you just wont be seeing the trunk] ... but that is all speculation with out a look/see ...

all that.. plus the usual opinion in this forum [actually, the conifer forum] that the leyland is most likely not the best tree you can have growing near the house.. with its short life span, and other problems related to it .... so .. why is this conifer important.. again.. more facts please ...

ken
Embothrium
15 years ago
Early failure of individual specimens would be a result of cultural mistakes and not an inherent characteristic. One of the parents of the cross lives over a thousand years in the wild. Some original seedlings in Britain still around and well over 100' tall.

Based on what I see here the most likely cause of failure would be deforming of roots by careless container culture at productions facilities, long before specimen gets in the hands of final purchaser. In my region there is also a problem with cypress tip moth, in parts of the East there are fungal issues.
hhoufek1 .
9 years ago
Our beloved 9 year old Leyland Cypress suffered a broken feeder I guess this is what it is called during a severe storm cell that passed over our land. The Leyland is 30 ft tall and about 20 ft around. The feeder (?) broke off of the base with a 3 inch base to the main tree trunk and other smaller branches. Will this cause our tree to become weak and sick or will it die in the coming months. Should I repair the shattered base or just leave it alone ?
HU-365483026
5 years ago
I planted 11 Leyland Cypress trees this year. They are all about 3’ tall. Last night a deer rubbed the bark off and broke the tops off of several of them. Can the top be grafted back on? Will they still grow out of it without doing anything and not be mis-shaped? Do I dig them up and plant something else? I need some guidance here. Thank you.
Brenda Goodale-Scruggs
last year
I have a Leyland Cypress tree seedling was 36 inches tall but now after being chipped by a mower is only 12 inches tall will it survive, what can I do to help.