Deer Damage to Leyland Cypress

Q: I have 3 Leyland cypress that the deer have chewed. They are continuing to grow tall but after a couple of years they still don’t seem to be filling in on the bottom. The guy who planted them said they would fill in and to leave them alone. I am beginning to disagree with him.

A: You are right to disagree! Plants that have needled leaves, like Leyland cypress, Juniper, arborvitae, etc., grow new foliage only from the green tips of their branches.

It looks like the deer ate the tips of everything they could reach on your plants. In that case, these limbs will not re-sprout.

The best thing to do is to clip them cleanly at the trunk.You can then plant low growing evergreens around each one to hide the exposed trunks.

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