Cupressocyparis leylandii Atro - Leyland cypress

Chamaecyparis x leylandii ‘Atro’ is a variety of Leyland cypress that stands out for its very fast growth and narrower, more compact habit, requiring less pruning than the type species. It is a large columnar conifer with very fine, dense evergreen foliage in a beautiful matt medium green, forming thick, robust screening hedges in no time at all! It is also used for avenues or as a specimen to give a more permanent and refined structure to the garden. This hardy conifer is undemanding. Nevertheless, it appreciates a sunny position and moist, fertile, deep but well-drained soils.

Cupressocyparis leylandii is a spontaneous hybrid between Cupressus macrocarpa, the Lambert cypress or Monterey cypress, native to the forests bordering the central Californian coast, and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, the Nootka false-cypress, native to the northern part of the west coast of North America. These two, large, hardy conifers are accommodating with regard to soil, and prefer rather humid climates. Both belong to the Cupressaceae family.

The variety ‘Atro’ is a very beautiful form of this species that reaches a mature size of 25m tall with a 5m spread. From a young age, it shows a columnar habit much narrower, denser and more compact than that of the type species, supported by upright branches emerging from the base of the trunk. Its thin, flattened branches are densely covered with leaves in fine, scaly branchlets of a matt medium green.

Its growth is very fast once established. Regular pruning (1 to 2 times a year) will obviously be necessary if you want to keep it at 2 or 3 m in height in a conventional hedge. This conifer naturally displays a columnar, very elegant habit, resembling a Thuja. Its flexible, upright branches are clothed in foliage that appears rather coarse when observed up close, aromatic when crushed. Its scent is slightly acidic. Its small, blunt, triangular, deep green leaves are overlapping on short cylindrical branchlets, which are themselves set on branches. This conifer produces pollen in early spring, which can be allergenic for some people. The globose, green female cones turn brown at maturity. The reddish-brown bark becomes greyish with age. The root system of this tree is a taproot, allowing it to anchor very deeply in the soil to draw water and nutrients and resist wind. Its hardiness is very good, around -15/-20°C. But its branches will not hold the weight of snow, which can permanently deform it!

The Leyland cypress is perfect in a large non-boundary hedge, preferably unpruned, whose role is to shelter the garden, for example, at the edges of the countryside. In this use, it will relieve the gardener of repeated pruning. A boon for urban or very windy coastal gardens, widely planted in housing estates, this cypress ensures permanent decoration all year round while perfectly fulfilling its role as a privacy screen. It provides structure when placed as a specimen or in groups of 3, and can replace the Provence cypress in large gardens. Like many conifers, it integrates into gardens of all styles, contemporary, wild, romantic or English. Also, try composing an evergreen and varied hedge by associating it with, for example, Elaeagnus ebbingei, Photinia Red Robin, Hicksii hybrid yew, holly, Japanese spindle, or Griselinia littoralis, Olearia traversii, strawberry trees and holm oaks in climates that are not too cold.