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How to Propagate Leyland Cypress

Contributor
By Quinten Metatron Plummer
eHow Contributing Writer
(0 Ratings)

Leyland cypress trees make great hedges because of their bushy foliage which can pruned to fit your needs. And because they easily lend themselves to pruning, leyland cypress are also great options for Christmas trees. But because of their lack of usable seeds, leyland cypresses are best propagated from cuttings.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  1. Step 1

    Choose a parent plant for your leyland cypress propagation. Attributes to look for in a parent plant are youth, hardiness and health.

  2. Step 2

    Select some of the more recent, upright branches to take from your leyland cypress, preferably those that aren't budding or showing signs of bud growth.

  3. Step 3

    Use a pair of pruning shears to take cuttings that are a little better than a half a foot long. Use your pruning shears to snip away the lower half of the foliage from the stems of your cuttings--cutting the foliage away makes room for more roots as well as encourages their development.

  4. Step 4

    Plant your cuttings in 3-inch pots filled with a light peat mixture. Stick the cuttings into the center of the pots at about two inches deep.

  5. Step 5

    Place your cuttings in a temperate environment with lots of humidity. If your environment lacks humidity, place two short, wooden planks across the top of a gallon bucket filled with water and then place your leyland cypress plants on top of the planks to create a makeshift humidifier.

  6. Step 6

    Allow the cuttings six to eight weeks to produce healthy roots, and then transplant them into gallon pots until they have matured enough to endure cold weather and are ready to be planted outside..

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