Laurel reduction

Another one that has gone rampant without my attention for a couple of years, is this laurel, which I am intending on knocking back into shape (heavily).

Please forgive the mess around it, this is all a work in progress. To the left is what I believe to be an azalia which is badly crowded by this laurel, and the evergreens to its left - ultimately, I would like to move it, but that is a whole other thread... anyway, I have put two lines on the photo below for suggested trim levels. I am wondering if going right down to the red one will allow for new growth and hopefully sort the shape a bit, or is it too harsh?

 

Champion, thanks @pete - red line suits me then.

Don't suppose you know how difficult it would be to move an azalia?

 

It is - first year I have seen it popping over too, so it must have put on a lot of growth last year. It won't have been touched in a while, as our neighbours moved out last summer, and then it was vacant for a short while before becoming a short term let, and now it seems that we have our new neighbours in.

I gave it a right good looking at today (head right inside, moving branches about) - no nests at all.

 

If I cut it about six inches above ground level, would that suit you?

I don't mind the laurel as such, but it is a bit of a thug and it causes everything in the border next to it to lean forward to try to get to the sunlight

 

You bring the shovel, I'll supply the tea and sandwiches and then we can work out shipping once it is out of the ground.....

 

Down to the red line should be fine. The problem is that once cut the resulting waste looks two or three times the amount when on the ground. I'm assuming you will have some help with it as it will be very heavy and a tough job. If not I'll delegate some GC members to come and help you.

I've found that, if possible, you cut it at the level you show and drop it in one piece - if it's safe to do so. Then it's much easier to cut into manageable pieces or put out of the way for a while until you can get rid of it.

As they others say, I would leave the Azalea until the Autumn simply because it has a better chance to survive if the ground is wet. The laurel roots may cause a slight problem but it depends on how long the laurel has been there.

 

I will have help @shiney - thankfully, I am very lucky in that respect, and although I do still have a tendency to try and get 'tore in', I also have helpers who are willing to tell me off and then do the hard work.

We have a shredder which reduces the amount of stuff we are dealing with quite dramatically - when we did the camelias at the front on Saturday, our entire wee patch was full with a huge heap of branches etc which ended up as four bags of shreddings that went into the composters. There is an evergreen right next to the composters that has had it, so it will be coming down too, making room for another (short term) compost heap over the stump. Anything too thick to shred from both the laurel and the evergreen will be set aside to dry, and can then be used to feed our pot bellied chimnea that I like to sit warming my feet under when the nights get cooler.....