Naylor’s Blue Leyland Cypress

Naylor's Blue Leyland Cypress (x Cupressocyparis leylandii 'Naylors Blue') is the answer when a boundary needs to be private this decade rather than next. Left to run it reaches about 10m tall and 3m wide, holding soft blue grey foliage to the ground, though most gardeners clip it to a 3m to 5m hedge instead. Planted 1.5m apart it closes into a solid evergreen wall faster than almost anything else you can buy.

Why you'll love it

• Blue grey colour. The foliage carries a genuine blue cast that reads as a change of texture against ordinary green shrubs.
• Tall and narrow. Around 3m wide at full height, so a 10m screen costs you only 3m of garden depth.
• Handles exposure. Frost hardy, wind tolerant, drought tolerant and salt tolerant, a rare combination in a fast screen.
• Low maintenance once shaped. Two trims a year hold a clipped hedge. No flowers, no fruit drop, no litter to rake.

Where it works best

Screening and privacy. Plant 1.5m apart in a single row. Closer spacing does not speed the screen up, it just brings on competition and thin growth low down.

Hedging. Held between 3m and 5m with two trims a year it makes a formal, flat sided hedge. Start shaping in the first year rather than cutting back later.

Windbreaks and rural boundaries. A staggered double row at 1.5m spacing filters wind across an exposed block, which does more good than a solid barrier.

Growing Naylor's Blue Leyland Cypress in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for even, dense growth. It suits cool temperate, warm temperate and Mediterranean gardens, including cold inland districts. It is not the pick for the humid subtropics and tropics, where still, damp air encourages canker and dieback low down.

Soil. Anything that drains. It is not fussy about fertility and copes with dry, poor ground, but will not accept waterlogging. On clay, plant on a raised mound and improve the whole hedge line rather than digging individual holes.

Water and feed. Deep watering twice a week through the first two summers gets the roots down, after which it largely looks after itself. A complete slow release fertiliser in early spring keeps the colour strong.

Pruning. Trim lightly and often from the first year, in late spring and again in late summer. This is the rule that matters: it does not reshoot from bare brown wood, so never cut past the green growth. Keep the hedge narrower at the top than the base and it stays green to ground level.

What to expect when it arrives

This cypress is grown in tubes: young plants 150mm to 250mm tall with a well knitted root plug. For a long boundary that is the sensible buy, because the growth rate means a tube catches a pot grown plant within a couple of seasons.

Tubes travel well because they are light and slow to dry out. Plant within a few days of arrival, water in deeply, and stake only on very exposed sites. Expect roughly 60cm to 1m of height a year once established. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Growing and maintaining conifers
• Browse the conifer range
• Compare fast growing privacy trees
• Plants for windbreaks and exposed sites

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

1.5m apart in a single row. That gives each plant room to furnish to the ground while the canopies still meet within two to three seasons.

Can I keep it at 3m?

Yes, and most gardeners do. Two trims a year hold it between 3m and 5m. Start while the leader is still soft, because topping an established tree leaves a flat cut.

What happens if I cut it back hard?

It will not reshoot from bare brown wood. Any cut past the green foliage stays brown permanently, so trim little and often rather than renovating an overgrown hedge.