Love it or loathe it the Leyland Cypress is Europe’s fastest growing conifer.

It is a cross between Chamaecyparis nootkatensis and Cupressus macrocarpa and is probably Britain’s most well known tree.

Unbeatable for screening but rather too tall for most small gardens this is a tall handsome tree with a dense columnar habit.

Single specimens and plantings in avenues show off this rather unfairly maligned conifer to best advantage.

Very good for coastal plantings where it tolerates salt laden winds.

It does well in most soils including chalk.

The trick to taming Leylandii is to prune once per year without fail in the spring but if you miss even one year it can get away from you, so fast is its growth. Once a hedge has grown too big for its surrounds there is no going back as pruning into old wood will leave it bare and patchy. The height of your hedge is usually set by how far you want to stand on a step ladder and if done correctly a Leylandii hedge is hard to beat for year round privacy.

Mature height: 20m+

Mature spread: 3-5m