How to Design a Living Fence

Leyland cyprus grows thick and tall. They make a beautiful fence.

Creating a living fence is a rewarding task. You use all natural plants or trees to create a barrier between you and neighbors, or a busy street. This adds great beauty and wonderful privacy. Leyland cyprus trees are one of the best plants to use for this task. According to Garden Guides.com reference site, they grow very fast, usually three feet every year. They can grow to 60 feet tall. And they grow well in all types of soil from clay, to well drained, to moist soil. They fill in fast to give you a thick, lush privacy fence. Leyland cyprus is an evergreen, so they stay beautiful all year long and are beautiful in snow.

Things You'll Need

• 3 ft. Leyland cyprus potted trees
• Ball of twine
• Shovels
• Fertilizer
• Compost
• Buckets
• Water

Instructions

1. 

   Lay twine in a long straight line.

   Get leyland cyprus trees about 3 feet tall. Line them up on the edge of your land or where you want the living fence to be. If you want them on the edge of your land, come inside the line 5 feet to plant them. Lay a long line of twine down 5 feet inside your land border line. Sit the pots on the twine. This will line the trees up. According to Garden Guides .com, they can grow to be about 15 feet wide through the center. Put them 8 feet apart in line to get ready to dig. In 2 to 3 years they will touch.

2. 

   Dig holes twice as big as the root ball.

   Dig the holes for each leyland cyprus. The hole should be twice as big as the root ball. Put some fertilizer in the bottom of the hole and put in a shovel of compost.

3. 

   Add compost to your soil.

   Mix compost in with the dirt you dug out of the hole. Take the tree out of the pot and put it in the hole. Fill the hole back up with the dirt and compost you mixed together. Stand on the fill in dirt to make sure it's firm. Water well.

Tips & Warnings

• Plant in the late Spring so they will have all Summer to settle in before Winter.

• Water them that first Summer if you have long dry spells.

• Don't put them too close together. They really grow fast and get very big.

References

• Garden Guides: Fast growing trees for a natural fence