# Leyland Cypress's needs help.



## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Morning everyone,

In December my Wife and I planted 4 3ft tall Leyland Cypress trees in our backyard for privacy in a area of the lawn in which noting ever really grows, and we intend on putting river rock across.. Within a week after, my wife and I got into a sever car accident and was out of commission for 2.5 months. Now we have gotten the green light to resume activities and I am wanting to go and edge/mulch our trees properly.

Forgive me for the lackluster job in the picture, but I thought I could mulch it a month after the injury, but that turned out to be a bad idea. So now, the weeds are growing through the mulch, and I am curious as to what I should do to treat these? SHould I just smother the weeds with mulch and create and edge about 30 inches out from the base around the tree?

I don't want to put a chemical because of the tree being in its infant stages, but the only thing I can think of it to cover the current weeds with mulch.

THanks in advance.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

If it was me, I would either 1. Hand weed a larger circumference around the base of the tree and then 2. do a careful spray of glyphosate in the area, underneath the leaves of the tree, since it's foliar absorbed. I'd make the mulched area much larger, and then put down a PreM to deter any further weed germination. That's not going to hurt the tree since it's already rooted. The PreM is going to deter any further germination of weeds. You want your mulched area to be at least 1/2 the height of the tree, and maintain this area. Another suggestion is to go with a different type of mulch as opposed to the wood chips, like pine straw, which is a better layer. You could even remove the existing mulch, and put down a layer of cardboard, which will act as a weed barrier, but also allow water to penetrate, and the cardboard will break down over time, as opposed to weed fabric, which doesn't.

Get them a balanced fertilizer for trees, and then make sure you water. Drip irrigation is a great idea, if you can make it happen.


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Thanks for that Colonel.

Do you think it is necessary to remove the mulch that is down now to apply the pre-e? I know that it would be best to bag it, but with want to try and save as much bending as possible with the back.

Also, how far out should I glyohosphate the grass? Nothing grows in this area but weeds and we will be putting river rock down in this area early next year, so I don't mind it looking funky for the time being.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Tex86 said:


> Thanks for that Colonel.
> 
> Do you think it is necessary to remove the mulch that is down now to apply the pre-e? I know that it would be best to bag it, but with want to try and save as much bending as possible with the back.
> 
> Also, how far out should I glyohosphate the grass? Nothing grows in this area but weeds and we will be putting river rock down in this area early next year, so I don't mind it looking funky for the time being.


I'm sorry, I didn't even acknowledge your unfortunate accident. I wish you and your wife a speedy recovery.

You'll want to get the PreM down into the soil, so for it to be effective, you'll want to remove as much of the mulch as possible. You could just rake it back, and put your mulch back into place after applying your PreM or spraying. Optimally, you'll want to treat your whole lot with PreM, including the areas that you'll be putting the river rock down, so you won't have to fight as many weeds and spray chems to kill the undesirable areas. PreM is considerably less expensive weed treatment as opposed to PostM applications. Think of it as the ounce of prevention vs. pound of cure.


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Colonel K0rn said:


> Tex86 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for that Colonel.
> ...


Thank you. 16 year old texting and driving, Hit us going 65mph measured via the skid marks.

I'll most likely rake the mulch back and apply my prodiamine in that area, water it, then Apply the glyohosphate. Afterwards, cover it with mulch and edge around that. Am I missing anything or is there a better process?


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## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

I have had great results from the vigaro fertilizer spikes from Home Depot. My Leylands didn't do much the first year. But after that they grow like crazy. I do 2 spikes per tree every spring and fall. I had 4 ft of growth last year. Mine are larger though so 1 per tree near the drip line should do you for the smaller ones. Once the roots establish they will take off like a monkey on meth.


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Fistertondeluxe said:


> I have had great results from the vigaro fertilizer spikes from Home Depot. My Leylands didn't do much the first year. But after that they grow like crazy. I do 2 spikes per tree every spring and fall. I had 4 ft of growth last year. Mine are larger though so 1 per tree near the drip line should do you for the smaller ones. Once the roots establish they will take off like a monkey on meth.


I've used the same spikes and the growth and green up is amazing! I just bought a new pack but gave been hesitent to put them in baby trees. Vigoro even ssid it was OK.


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## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

@Tex86 I would put them in. It's simply feeding nutrients to the plants. I'm getting ready to do all my evergreens this week. I have 4 in a row. When they were small I put 1 between each tree to give a lower rate. I now put one on each side of the tree. I just regret not lining my whole back side with them.


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## Still learnin (Sep 9, 2017)

I'll add that you need to be very careful with watering the Leylands. I have about 30 now I think and had to replant probably half of those and didn't bother with some. First year they received too much rain and they were in a low lying area apparently. Second to round I didn't get them enough water. After that I started giving them 1 gallon of water per week from spring through end of fall. That seems to have worked and I think I may have saved some. But they've had a high tendency to get blown askew as well. I need to straighten and stake a few in the next couple of weeks.


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Fistertondeluxe said:


> @Tex86 I would put them in. It's simply feeding nutrients to the plants. I'm getting ready to do all my evergreens this week. I have 4 in a row. When they were small I put 1 between each tree to give a lower rate. I now put one on each side of the tree. I just regret not lining my whole back side with them.


I'll go ahead and give that a shot. I haven't been able to be out there the past few days as the weather is has been erratic so I need to kill some grass that in encroaching the Leyland and then put some Pre-E down around it. But once I'm done with both of those, I'll discontinue my liquid Hastagro fertilizer and just stick a tree spike in the ground and call it a day!


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Still learnin said:


> I'll add that you need to be very careful with watering the Leylands. I have about 30 now I think and had to replant probably half of those and didn't bother with some. First year they received too much rain and they were in a low lying area apparently. Second to round I didn't get them enough water. After that I started giving them 1 gallon of water per week from spring through end of fall. That seems to have worked and I think I may have saved some. But they've had a high tendency to get blown askew as well. I need to straighten and stake a few in the next couple of weeks.


Mine is at the bottom of an easement and we are planting them down there for privacy. They are about 9 feet apart. A local tree nursery told me to water them 5 gallons a week. To me, that seems a bit too much right now as the temps are below 85, but I'm constantly second guessing the amount of water to apply, which is not good.

2 of the trees are blown a skew like you said. I figured, if they made it through the summer, we would call an arborist to have them readjusted, is that necessary from your experience? My concern is damaging the roots while I am adjusting it back straight. The trees are about 4ft tall.

I'll go ahead and follow your method of 1 gallon a week Spring-Fall. However, the areas that they are in get FULL sun, and it it HOT when summer rolls around. Should the 1 gallon a week principle still apply in 95*+??

Thanks for the input.


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

@Tex86 1 gallon a week in 95+ definitely won't be enough. During hot spells like that, I would be giving 2-3 gallons every 5 days or so, with each time sticking your finger into the root zone to feel the soil moisture - that is the best way to determine watering need.

I would get a thicker layer of mulch farther around each tree if you could. Shoot for 3" mulch depth, minimum 3' away from the trunk in all directions. This will help to keep the soil neighboring the root zone moist as well, so it doesn't pull water away from the tree. In that much heat, any areas that you don't water will pull the moisture from the areas that you do.

You could also add some seaweed/kelp extract to the soil to help with stress resistance for the trees. I use the Dr. Earth Ocean Rich as it doesn't contain any Nitrogen (which you don't want in the first year until established) and has a nice blend of probiotics, microbes, and rhizomes to help nurture the plant and soil. Mix according to instructions and pour into and around the root zone. I get from Amazon because of convenience, and a little goes a long way.

All this said with the hope that you feel better and can do the tasks - I wish you a speedy recovery from your unfortunate accident.

https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Earth-Seaweed-Concentrate-Fertilizer/dp/B00FGIJA6G/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Jconnelly6b said:


> @Tex86 1 gallon a week in 95+ definitely won't be enough. During hot spells like that, I would be giving 2-3 gallons every 5 days or so, with each time sticking your finger into the root zone to feel the soil moisture - that is the best way to determine watering need.
> 
> I would get a thicker layer of mulch farther around each tree if you could. Shoot for 3" mulch depth, minimum 3' away from the trunk in all directions. This will help to keep the soil neighboring the root zone moist as well, so it doesn't pull water away from the tree. In that much heat, any areas that you don't water will pull the moisture from the areas that you do.
> 
> ...


Thank you. I will grab some of that today. When you water how are you doing it? I have a soaker hose as you can see, but I feel that getting a 2 gallon flower bucket and pouring it on the root zone, but being cautious to cause run off. I feel the soaker hose just doesn't cut it.


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

I use a watering can but will be investing in a soaked hose for my trees this year. If it's not too far of a walk or difficult for you to do the finger test, I think you will be able to determine a frequency of watering based on the temperature. If you want to grab one of the fancy water timers that meter/time on gallons, you could do that as well.

With the finger test in the soil, and keeping a close eye on the tips of the foliage for browning I think you will be fine. Watch out for flushes of growth if you get them as plants become very water dependent when they are fed. The spikes should be slow release and a good idea, so if they flush out growth and then it gets extra hot check the root zone at least every other day for moisture. The thick layer of mulch of course will help greatly with this.


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## Still learnin (Sep 9, 2017)

Tex86 said:


> Still learnin said:
> 
> 
> > I'll add that you need to be very careful with watering the Leylands. I have about 30 now I think and had to replant probably half of those and didn't bother with some. First year they received too much rain and they were in a low lying area apparently. Second to round I didn't get them enough water. After that I started giving them 1 gallon of water per week from spring through end of fall. That seems to have worked and I think I may have saved some. But they've had a high tendency to get blown askew as well. I need to straighten and stake a few in the next couple of weeks.
> ...


Most of ours are apparently in an area where water likes to collect and the ground gets water logged a little bit. Not on the surface, but several inches below. 1 gallon a week has worked to far for me and 5 gallons would be way way too much. What I did when I realized that water was the problem, we kept a close eye on the tops (they seem to be the first to brown) and would attempt the finger test. I also have mulch though and it was deceiving sometimes in some areas.

I started using gallon water jugs. They're cheap and I had about 12 that I would fill up and take out on the golf cart. I tried the soaker house but mine span an acre away from the house and there wasn't enough pressure to get the water to but about half the trees.

Sad thing is, I saw a 90 year old neighbor plant and maintain about 10 Leylands just fine. She has a talent. I lack it apparently!

I have always just carefully turned the trees how they needed to be positioned, I've bever called an arborist. However, I've also killed several... but I've transplanted some that have stayed alive as well. In the next couple weeks I think I'm going to get them straigh again and add sand to fill in the voids that have somehow been created.


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Still learnin said:


> Tex86 said:
> 
> 
> > Still learnin said:
> ...


Great idea with the jugs. I have a 2 x 2.5 gallon watering and I just used that, but the jugs would be an excellent substitution.

I asked my wife if we should call an artist, but she said let's wait u til we get everything in place (mulch, edging, etc) and see if the survive this first summer.

When youbwere fixing the lean, how are you going to apply sand to fill in the voids under the rootball causing it to lean?


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## Still learnin (Sep 9, 2017)

When mine have leaned, there's been a void created where not niche has filled in from the lean. Plan on just pouring some sand in there and working it down a little. Maybe water it in to get it to push under.


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## Tex86 (Jun 4, 2017)

Still learnin said:


> When mine have leaned, there's been a void created where not niche has filled in from the lean. Plan on just pouring some sand in there and working it down a little. Maybe water it in to get it to push under.


Would masonry sand work?


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

I think masonry sand will be just fine.


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## TigerinFL (Mar 29, 2018)

last property we had in TN we planted 30 leyland cypress trees on the back side of our 5 acres. no where near a water source. so I ended up taking some 5 gallon homer buckets and drilling a few small holes near the base. just enough to let the water seep out slowly. then I would fill up the buckets after I dragged 250 of hose out there and filled the buckets and let them water the trees slowly. it was a half day affair to get it done.

I did this several times a year. I also used the tree spikes which seemed to help those suckers grow.

we would have bag worms show up in August so keep your eyes out for those. they can strip a tree in a matter of days.


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