Taxodium

• Bald cypress may live 200 years or more.bald cypress image by FFprod66 from Fotolia.com
  
  Bald cypress (T. distichum (L.) Rich. var. distichum) and pond cypress (T. distichum var. nutans (Ait.) Sweet) are deciduous conifers, losing their scaled leaves each fall. Native to swamps in the southeastern United States, these cypresses tolerate seasonal flooding. They both have characteristic root outgrowths, or knees. A bald cypress may grow 12 to 23 inches each year and eventually reaches heights of 150 feet or more. The smaller pond cypress, while still fast growing, grows up to 12 inches per year.
  
  

Cupressus

• Unlike the Taxodium family, the Cupressus family of trees prefer conditions in the western United States. They adapt to harsh heat, moderate drought and alkaline soils. These cypresses are evergreen, and many members have moderate to fast growth rates. Arizona cypress (C. arizonica) is the only native cypress and grows rapidly to 40 feet, making it useful as a green or steel-blue privacy screen or windbreak. Old Monterey cypress (C. macrocarpa) specimens populate Golden Gate Park, becoming wide-crowned with age.
  
  

Leyland Cypress

• Leyland cypress is a hybrid between a cedar and a Monterey cypress. It is remarkably fast growing, and young specimens often push 3 to 4 feet of growth in a single year. It's feathery, evergreen foliage and dense, pyramidal form make it a landscape favorite, but many homeowners are dismayed when the hybrid gradually takes over their yard. Leyland cypress can grow 40 to 70 feet tall or more, and it may spread 20 feet wide.
  
  

Considerations

• Junipers have a wide range of color and form.macro green juniper image by Furan from Fotolia.com
  
  Many of the most popular cypresses become towering behemoths late in their life. While appropriate for a large landscape, other trees may be more suited to suburban lots. Alternatives include Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergiana), an adaptable pine that grows to 20 feet tall, junipers (Juniperus spp.), which have similar scaled foliage as cypress trees, or arborvitae (Thuja spp.).