Leyland cypress stumps do not resprout, so grinding them below grade finishes the job, and a whole row can be ground in one visit. If young trees died of root rot, take the root systems out or plant something other than Leyland there, because the disease can stay in the soil.
Why so many Leyland screens are coming out
Leyland cypress was planted everywhere as a fast screen, and that is now the problem. A Lee County NC State Extension article says it has been overplanted to the point that diseases are taking a toll on the landscape. NC State's plant guide calls it severely pest and disease prone and says its root rots and cankers are incurable. Seiridium and Botryosphaeria cankers kill branches and stems, and canker typically follows a drought. Bagworms can strip a whole tree in a few weeks. Large specimens, NC State adds, tend to topple. A screen that browns one tree at a time usually ends with every tree coming out.
What a Leyland stump is like
Leyland grows fast. NC State notes that young trees put on roughly three feet a year and that the tree has reached fifty feet in fifteen years, so even a screen planted not long ago can leave stumps of real width. The roots are shallow, which is part of why big ones go over. Like most conifers, it does not sprout from a cut stump, so there is nothing to kill: once the trunk is off, the stump is dead wood. That makes grinding a Leyland stump a clean, one-time job. The questions are how many, how wide, and what stands around them.
Grinding a whole row in one visit
Leylands were planted as screens, so they come out as rows, often along a boundary, a fence or a neighbor's drive. The tracked grinder works down the line from stump to stump, taking each one four to eight inches below grade. On a long row the grindings add up to a ridge of chips the length of the screen, so decide early: raked back into the holes and topped, kept for a path or a bed, or hauled away. A row is quoted as one job, and grinding several stumps at once explains why that helps.
Root rot: when grinding is not enough
Clemson Extension describes Phytophthora root rot as a soilborne disease of Leylands in poorly drained soil. It mostly hits younger trees; mature, established ones are seldom affected. Clemson's advice is to remove infected plants with the entire root system. The Lee County NC State article adds a second root disease, Armillaria, which builds up on decaying wood such as stumps left in the ground, and says both can persist in soil after the plant is gone. So if young Leylands died in wet ground, grinding the stumps and replanting the same spot is a gamble. Full stump removal lifts the root balls out whole instead.
What to plant instead
NC State's advice is blunt: if a Leyland has to come out, do not put another Leyland in its place. The Lee County article suggests Arizona cypress, Japanese cedar and Green Giant arborvitae, and recommends planting several species in clusters of three or five, or in alternating layers, so one disease cannot run the whole line. NC State's plant guide also lists yaupon holly, eastern red cedar and southern magnolia as alternatives. Clemson advises spacing screen trees at least twelve to fifteen feet apart for air movement, avoiding poorly drained spots and working organic matter into heavy clay.
Before the grinder arrives
Leyland foliage can irritate skin, and NC State recommends gloves when handling it. If some trees in the row are staying, protect them: Seiridium canker gets in through wounds from lawn equipment and pruning tools, so the Lee County article advises disinfecting tools between cuts on infected trees. Mark irrigation lines and low-voltage lighting that run along the screen, because 811 marks public utility lines but not private ones. And talk to your neighbor, since a line of stumps on a boundary is often half theirs to look at.
Common Questions
Do Leyland cypress stumps grow back after cutting?
No. Leyland cypress is a conifer and does not resprout from a cut stump, so there is nothing to kill or treat. Grinding the stump below grade is a finished job. The only reasons to go further are root rot in the soil or something being built where the row stood.
Can I plant new trees right where my Leyland cypress stumps were?
Not another Leyland. NC State Extension advises against replanting Leyland where one was removed, and Clemson warns against it wherever Phytophthora root rot is known. Choose a different species, plant to one side of the old stump line in firm soil, and space the new trees so air can move between them.
Why did my Leyland cypress screen die one tree at a time?
Usually disease working down the row. NC State Extension says planting one species close together speeds the spread, and that Seiridium canker travels through wounds from tools and equipment. Canker tends to follow drought, while Phytophthora root rot follows wet, poorly drained soil. Once trees are infected, the cankers and root rots are not curable.
What to Do Next
Count the stumps, measure the widest one at ground level, and send a photo looking down the row plus your town. A whole screen is quoted as one job. Call (828) 574-4474.