The problem is that the trees are now overgrown. Though these plants can be sheared as a hedge (which is done extensivly in England), this must be started when the plant is young. Pruning lateral branches deeply into older, bare wood will NOT result in a flush of new growth.

If your are pruning into the foliated part of the branches, new growth is a likely result. You are aware, I hope, that your trees are still growing and can attain heights of over 70 feet and a spread of 25 or so?

Spring pruning was probably recommended to lessen the time of recovery. But in your climate, you could probably go ahead and prune at any time without harming the plant. It will just be bare and gawky longer, not something most of us would want.

If this were my propery, I would have the trees removed. I doubt that you will be able to salvage them and still keep them beautiful. At least, that's what it sounds like from the description. You are the best judge.

So if the pruning is done on the foliated branches, should I assume that this would still be a way to at least temporarily trim them away from the house? I took from your comments that this would have to be done periodically just to keep it under control, at this stage.

The person who planted them put about six Lelands only 3 or 4 feet apart, in a row to create a dense privacy screen. However, she did not consider their spread, and also did not trim them when they were young. So now it's more a matter of trying to at least keep the spread from touching or going over our gutters.

I have a "problem" Leyland, too. The previous owner planted a row of them down the driveway - nice idea. But they didn't notice that the first one - the one that has grown the largest, wouldn't you just know - is directly under the power line. It has about 4 or 5 more feet and it's going to be touching the wires. Dh wants to cut it back...can we do that?

If you don't cut it back, the power company probably will. Here in the Atlanta area, the power companies send out crews on a regular basis to keep limbs away from the lines in all directions. And those crews are not performing the "best looking" trims, if you know what I mean.

Know what you mean. We're so far out they may not keep close track but if I let it get into the wires I'll probably have to pay for repairs.

What concerns me is whether whacking it back (and it's such a pretty shape now!) will result in horrible deformity or if it can be kept within size and shape. Will it fork? Send out a lot of side growth? I'm afraid it might be better just to remove it completely even though I hate to lose it - it's the nicest one in the whole row.

lindakimy, I'd remove it. Removal is always the best choice over topping.

Northatlanta, keeping the cypress trimmed back will be your second job, lol. But remember, you may find that after you begin working on the plant you'll end up with something that hurts your feelings (and your eyes) every time you look at it.

Should that happen, please don't hesitate to remove it. You'll be so glad you did. Most people who live with something like that because they 'hated to cut it down', wonder what the HECK took them so long!!!!

I have cypress trees planted all around my 9 acre lake......They are beautiful and beginning to split at the base of the trunk. They have branches and the very bottom and I need to know if they need to be pruned. How far up do I prune them and when is the best time to prune them

The branches at the bottom don't have to be pruned and doing so will not correct your problem. Can you take a picture of the split and post it on the Trees forum? How old are these trees, is it possible they are at the end of their life cycle?

It may be best to cut them down and grow something that will fit in that space.

I have two 50 foot Lelands which frame my two-story house. The upper 35 feet are beautiful but the bottom 15 feet are very sparse and full of dead branches. I have trimmed off the dead branches only to have the remaining green die also. I do realize that I will see no new growth on the bottoms but unfortunately that is at eye level. They are rubbing on the gutter due to poor planning(planting) by the previous owners. Is there anything I can do to salvage these or are they done? Is it advisable to trim the trunk bare up to 15 feet?

I am planting new trees about 4' high. Some have what appears will develop into a second trunk. Should these be removed to allow only a single trunk?

I have 10 Leeland Cypress trees, unfortunately the bottom of the trees have become bare of limbs (not alive)and this is the area I need the limbs to be alive in order to provide privacy from neighbors. These are very mature 15 year old trees, can I top the trees and expect new growth on the bottom of these mature trees?

"These are very mature 15 year old trees, can I top the trees and expect new growth on the bottom of these mature trees?

Sorry, no. Conifers just don't grow that way (sprouting new branches from the base) and topping won't help at all to encourage that type of growth. btw, 15 y.o.is not "very mature" for a Leyland :-) But depending on where one is located, it might very well be towards the end of an anticipated life expectancy. These tend to not be very long lived trees in the SE as they are prone to a couple of very debilitating, if not fatal, fungal diseases.

I HAD two beautiful what I have been told Leyland Cypress trees that were growing too wide horizontally. I had a professional company in to trim about 15 inches off of them and they sent inexperienced men round who chopped off at least two thirds of my trees leaving them looking like lollipops. I almost gave up on them as they went brown over the winter, but now I see they are growing shoots from all the limbs. I would like to know how long it will take for them to recover from this awful pruning? Thanks.

So I am reading all this, and of course I have leland cypress along both sides of my property. They are about 15 years old. I want to have them topped off about 10 feet off the top? Will this make them die? I have seen them done like this on some propertys and they still look good. Is there a trick to it?

How tall are the trees now? 10 feet is a lot to take off an established tree and it can lead to a lot of problems, including death. Shearing the trees to remain at a specific size can be done - as noted earlier in this thread - but it is something that is begun much earlier in the tree's life and the removal of any top growth is typically limited to just a few inches to a foot or so.

If the trees are just too large for their current location - which is often the case with Leylands - then complete removal is a much better option.

hi all, new register today...my issue is much like jim springer,,, going bare at the bottom... 3 out of 10 ,,they seem properly spaced, the trees conceal a chain link fence that the tree limbs crowdly press against, some jut thru and are healthy, some meet resistance and turn brown,, i speculated the chain link fence got so hot it burned the limbs, literally, but what do i know, thats why i searched for help..my initial goal was to top them so as create a hedge row to easily control them,, i do not want to have to use a ladder, i have electric hedge trimmer,, please advise..

phil

Leyland cypresses are not recommended by experienced arborists for all the reasons given. In addition they are very prone to breakage in high-wind areas.

Your county Extension Agent or better yet, a certified arborist may be able to provide some alternatives to Leyland cypresses.

The ability of Leyland cypress to thrive or do moderately well is quite regionally centered. In the mid-Atlantic states and into the south, they are very prone to disease issues. In my area, they do very well with few problems outside of a sometimes inadequate or congested rootball. But that is a grower issue rather a defect of the tree.

In the right place and under the right growing conditions, they can be an exceptional, fast growing screening tree.

thank you for these two replies, they were very helpful

On a piece of property we bought there is a row of several trees we believe to be Leland Cypress. On one side they have been up against a chain link fence which appears to have kept them from growing on that one side. We have removed the fence as it was damages in a recent hurricane when 2 of the trees fell. We are working on cleaning them up and getting the looking healthy. Is it safe to take off some of the lower branches, about 3-4 feet? This was the height of the fence and the branches on this side of the tree appear to be dead because they were up against the fence.

I want to cut a 30 foot cypress down by half. Would that kill the tree?

Probably, over time. But even if it did survive it would be butt-ugly!! Most conifers will just not come back well from that sort of butchery.