Can Tree Care Save the Area’s Embattled Leyland Cypress?

Leyland Cypress trees make a fantastic addition to any northeasterner’s home. These beautiful evergreens are fast and hardy growers that quickly mature into tall and wide trees that add a pleasing touch to just about any yard or landscape. Many Delaware residents will use them either as accent trees to break up the landscape or plant them in a row to create a type of living privacy wall or barrier. In short, there are a lot of ways to incorporate Leyland Cypress trees into your landscaping layout and, in general, they are guaranteed to thrive in most climate conditions with proper tree care — except when their local area experiences sudden and extreme temperature fluctuations such as we had this past winter.

The quick maturation rate of Leyland Cypress trees makes them great for use in screening homes and providing windbreaks around the property. However, this same usage also made them more exposed to the worst of this past winter’s extreme frigidness and high wind conditions. For this reason, many of our region’s trees suffered damage related to the cold and drying out that has made this species of tree less hardy than normal this year .

What Homeowners Can Do About Ailing Leyland Cypress Trees

One of the first signs of ailing Leyland Cypress trees is browning needles. Needles that turn brown, wither, and fall, generally do so because the tree itself is suffering from moisture stress. Moisture stress is common following a hard winter as the Leyland Cypress has a shallow root system that is susceptible to stress and often has issues with retaining moisture during extreme conditions. Additionally, extreme winter conditions can cause a dieback and death of the much needed water-conducting tissue found beneath the first layer of bark on the tree.

Unfortunately, no quick cure for ailing Leyland Cypress trees currently exists. Rather, the best thing homeowners can do is give their trees some space, plenty of moisture and practice smart tree trimming and pruning to prevent symptoms from exacerbating.

During the growing seasons of spring and summer, Leyland Cypress trees need about an inch of water per week. Before you contact your local tree care professionals, or before trimming and pruning on your own, give your ailing Leyland Cypress tree a few weeks to start new spring growth on its own. Most Leyland Cypress trees are hardy and will replace their damaged needles on their own. However, if by summer no new growth is emerging on one or several of the branches, then precision pruning should be considered. The best place to trim or prune in this scenario is just above the ailing branch where there are still plenty of flourishing green needles. If your trees have received too much damage to recover, Stein can safely remove the necessary specimens.

Call Stein for Skilled Tree Care in Delaware and Pennsylvania

Whether you need advice about the type of treatment needed for ailing trees, regular tree trimming and pruning, or emergency tree removal, Stein Tree is your source, Our professional tree care specialists are committed to providing top quality care of the trees in your landscape. Contact us today for a free consultation.

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