What is Leyland cypress, and where did it come from?
In the 1800’s numerous tree species from all over the world were planted in an arboretums on the Leighton Hall estate in England. In 1888 several unusual seedlings were noticed at Leighton Hall, apparently from a rare intergeneric cross between an Alaska-Cedar mother tree and a nearby Monterey Cypress. Both parent trees are native to the North-American Pacific coast. The new hybrid was called a cypress since the Alaska-Cedar is a “false cypress” and the Monterey Cypress is a “true cypress”. Neither are related to our southern cypress (baldcypress). There are at least seven, and probably more, clones or “cultivars” (cultivated varieties) of Leyland cypress in existence, each from a different cross between the parent species. The cultivar planted almost exclusively for Christmas Trees in the southern United States to date is `Leighton Green’; however, other cultivars such as `Castlewellan’ and `Silver Dust’ show promise for those customers preferring something different. Leyland cypress
