Leyland Cyprus
A row of about 20 Leyland Cyprus along our back yard separates us from a 3 story medical office building for privacy. They are about 25-30 feet tall, about 15 years old, and about 8 feet apart. Over the years the bottom 4-5 feet of branches have died-out making quite a gap up to the top of the 6-foot privacy fence. I guess it's due to the mostly being in the shade. What can we plant in between them that will grow up to maybe 10-15 feet tall and fill out to take up space? We have thought about Wax Myrtle, non-sticker holly trees, Aucuba Japonica, Japanese Privet, and some others. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks.
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HoneyBerry
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I've seen Photinia planted in between Arborvitaes. which are similar but shorter. I don't know if Photinia is suitable for your zone or not. It grows fast and does require some maintenance. It wiuld fill the gaps quickly if you don't mind trimming them once in a while. Photinia is nice looking with reddish green leaves. You might like it.
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HoneyBerry
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I do not know how Photinia would do amongst Leyland Cypress. You would need to research that. Tomorrow I will take some pictures of the Photinia and Arborvitae plantings. They were planted recently, about 2 years ago. The Arborvitaes are still young and short. The Photinia is also young. I was thinking that the Photinia would eventually get crowded out and overpowered by the Arborvitaes, but I don't know for sure.
I think in your case, lack of sun could be a concern. You need something that will tolerate the Cypress trees and the needles that they drop and the shade that they produce.
An idea to consider would be to change the fence to a not so solid fence such as chain link. I don't know if the bottom half of cypress would fill in with green or not. There is a chance that it might.
I have some Arborvitaes that lost some bottom growth due to a fence that was close. The fence was about 3 foot tall, so one side of the Arborvitaes is bare at the base. I took down the fence and now the needles filling in and recovering. My situation is similar to yours, but much smaller in scale.
I think in your case, lack of sun could be a concern. You need something that will tolerate the Cypress trees and the needles that they drop and the shade that they produce.
An idea to consider would be to change the fence to a not so solid fence such as chain link. I don't know if the bottom half of cypress would fill in with green or not. There is a chance that it might.
I have some Arborvitaes that lost some bottom growth due to a fence that was close. The fence was about 3 foot tall, so one side of the Arborvitaes is bare at the base. I took down the fence and now the needles filling in and recovering. My situation is similar to yours, but much smaller in scale.
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HoneyBerry
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- Posts: 1216
- Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:10 pm
- Location: Zone 8A Western Washington State