Leylandii hedging and its ideal spacing
If you want an quick hedge in your garden, then Leylandii is probably the best choice, on the simple basis that it does the job better, faster and more affordably than anything else.
Leylandii is very vigorous and can grow up to 1 metre (3 feet) per year. It can reach as high as 30 metres (100 feet) if you don’t prune it, but it can easily be kept small by regular trimming. It also bushes out vigorously.
A Leylandii hedge will provide excellent shelter. They make a fantastic windbreak that is more effective and long-lasting than a fence. The dense foliage also reduces noise and filters out particulate air pollution from nearby traffic. This means if you live near a busy road, a Leylandii hedge will preserve the air quality in your garden and block out the noise of all the cars.
You can grow a Leylandii hedge almost anywhere. They are not fussy about soil or site; they are suitable in sunny or shady areas and in any soil except waterlogged soil. Newly planted trees will need regular watering in their first year, but after that they can look after themselves.
They are also easy to maintain. It is important to maintain Leylandii to stop it getting too big. To do this, all you need to do is trim it back once or twice a year. A properly maintained Leylandii hedge will not cause problems. It will also look very neat and tidy. We recommend you let your hedge grow to the height and width you want, and then give it its trim so it remains at your desired size.
Finally, Leylandii is generally the most affordable of all evergreen hedging plants, especially larger sizes. In most cases a Leylandii hedge is probably cheaper than installing a fence.
When it comes to spacing, we recommend planting Leylandii between 60cm (2ft) and 100cm (3ft) from the centre of one plant to the centre of the next. Basically, if you want an quick screen, then plant them 60cm apart. If you’re not in a rush, then you can plant them 100cm apart, and it will only take an extra year for them to fill up. However, if you want your hedge to be very tall (e.g. 5 metres/16ft or higher), we recommend spacing 100cm apart at a minimum. If you need help working out how many Leylandii you need, please use our hedge spacing calculator.
In most cases, you should plant Leylandii in a single row but you can also plant a double row of Leylandii if you want your hedge if you want to grow them especially tall. This would be suitable for large spaces, away from other houses and buildings. This gives the Leylandii trees space to grow, yet still forms a screen quickly if you are looking from your house. You do this by spacing the two rows 2 metres (6.5 feet) apart, and then staggering the plants so they form a zigzag. This means that the trees are 1 metre apart as you look at them but two metres apart in the rows
To see the different sizes of Leylandii and our prices, please click here.