Connifers - What to do with them?

Hi there,

Back again after forgeting about this place (and semi ignoring my garden I wont lie while I had other things to deal with..)

Just here for hopefully some advice on connifers (Lawson/Leyland Cypress I believe but not sure!). When I purchased my property the previous owner planted ~10 or so trees along the rear of the garden, however he planted 2 way too close to the detached garage of which they've cracked the concrete base but thats another story..

I like the cover they provide, but I'm also not really sure what to do with them in the sense of should they be pruned a bit? Should hte tops be trimmed just to keep them under control a bit? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome!

(Fingers crossed image attaching works this time! if not I apologise! I've used the "Image" button?)


I have thought about getting rid too, as they would free up a fair bit of space in my garden, but as said I do like the cover they give (and for birds etc) but nothing grows under / around them other than the trees and some ivy ou the back..

Also, just out of curiosity for second opinions, my neighbour has a pretty large tree on the property line of which has pushed out the concrete kickboard etc, it can sway a fair bit in the wind and has some dead branches towards the bottom.. Does anything think this is anything to be concerned with? (Again image below.. hopefully it works!)

Edit - Sorry again about that!

 

Sorry, can’t see your photos. Try again using the little blue box called “Upload a file” at the bottom of the text box.

 

Thanks sorry!

Managed to get one sorted, other claiming file size limit.. even though its smaller than the image uploaded..

 

I know exactly what your garage is suffering from as we had an identical one that began to lean as a result of tree roots cracking the base. Ours has just been demolished and taken away. We now have to wait for a piledriver to reinforce the ground, a new concrete base to be laid and a new garage built. The builder thinks we should be sorted and back to where we were sometime next spring, when he has done all the other jobs in his diary.

Yes, they do block the view very well and the temptation is to trim the tops. We did that and they went crazy, growing faster than ever.

Your neighbour’s tree does a fine job of blocking the view. I’d forgive it the kickboard movement.

 

Yeah the garage has to come down I think.. had a quote at £1,100 to remove it all down to the concrete slab.. then I think the 2 trees at the back will need to be removed.I was hoping to save it to make it a home gym... But with a cracked base that runs from the back and out the side I don't think its repairable without ripping the whole thing down.

With that it may be best to just not touch the trees.. As said I like them but they do take up ~4 ft of garden.

As for the neighbours tree, it blocks mostly evening sunlight if I'm honest! But also makes growing anything in that corner / side of the garden almost impossible it feels.. I've tried wildflower seeds but get nothing the only thing that seems to grow is what google suggests is robert herb.

My concern with it I guess is that they had another tree that was slightly smaller that fell over into my garden on a windy night (of which took out 4 fence panels and 1.5 trees..) And being a rental nothing ever seems to get done with their garden. but I'm not sure if its my "bias" or the tree genuinely is an "issue" sort of thing

 

Hi @SBcBWIQN

Taste in plants is very subjective. I don't like conifers personally, especially Leylandii. When I got my house there were so many of them and not only did I find them not to be very interesting, it was very easy for them to get out of hand growth-wise. I did like the fact that they provided screening, but that was about it. They are all gone now, and I have no regrets whatsoever. Removing them enabled me to get plants that I enjoy. I also don't miss trying to tame them.

Having said that, if you don't want to take on a significant project - or at least not right now - pruning regularly is probably better than letting them grow quite big and then have to cut them back severely. Their shape can get pretty bad if you do that.

 

Thanks, Yeah as said I do like them for the fact they block out the neighbours to the back, and I have debated getting rid entirely as it would free up quite a fair bit of my garden, while right now I could do it (in terms of ripping them out) I have other things I need to do inside the house first money wise.. I had 2 smaller trees alot closer to the house I dug out around december 2023 which was painful I won't lie...

But it them comes back down to what can be planted that would act as a good screen to the properties at the back that doesn't kill off a bit area of ground around it and won't cause drainage issues for said neighbours at the back as just at the treeline (on the floor) the gound drops off downwards towards the fenceline and their gardens.

 

Conifers are shallow rooted and spread them quite a distance. They not only damage foundations and water/sewage utilities in search of water but sap both nutrients and water from the soil. Very little will grow near them. Having experience of this in the past from a neighbours hedge, I wouldn't plant any conifer (that includes pines) within 40ft of any of those things I've mentioned.

If you decide to prune them don't cut back into the brown wood on the sides as conifers generally don't produce new growth.

 

They're probably already a bit too wide to prune into a hedge because as Sheal said, if you cut back to brown wood it will stay brown. But if they are Leylandii or Lawson Cypress and you don't prune them, they will get huge in both height and spread fairly quickly. I think I would get them out sooner rather than later and plant something that you can keep under control from the outset. Be aware that if/when you take them out, the fence behind might need work. And the soil will probably be impoverished and need some improvement.

 

Thanks, Yeah I have experience removing one after the neighbours tree fell last time and took ~90% of it out, managed to dig the main rootball out which still had its burlap sack (sort of at least) around it.. but had to cut away some of the thicker roots and leave them in the ground hoping they wilt away in time?

Thanks for the suggestion I may look at slight prune while I can now and cut them down towards the end of the year as please correct me if I'm wrong but you shouldn't cut trees down in spring or summer right?

Not looking forward to digging hte roots out mind! Regarding getting out of control is there a time for these to reach full maturity and stop / slow down? or is it just a case thjey just keep going and going until physics takes over and they fall over? I only ask that as from what I was told (and Google streetview history) is they were planted ~2012

Any suggestions as to what to potentially grow in its place which offers reasonable cover from the houses to the rear? (that isn't as big of an issue as Leylandii/Cypress trees?

 

Also apologies for the terrible paint image below.. but if removing these trees is there a way to hopefully not piss off my neighbours to the rear regarding any drainage etc in the winter?

My garden is all over the place in terms of being level, but it slopes down towards where the trees are planted and then to the fence (which from the deeds I believe is mine to deal with) Hopefully the terrible image below sort of explains (Black line to right = my house.. green = crap drawing of a tree, red = fence)

 

Conifer roots will eventually die and rot down without re-shooting. If you decide to remove yours leave a good 4ft of trunk, these will help with leverage when trying to free the stump/roots.

Yes, usually around 130ft.

An idea of the size of your garden please would help with suggestions.

I'd speak with the neighbours about the tree situation. You'll probably find they'll be over the moon at their removal. If the slope is gentle then I can't see drainage being a problem.

 

Yeah when I had to remove the damaged ones last time I left ~2 ft of trunk to use to lever the rootball out of the ground which did help.

That solves the "what to do question" then really with cutting them down seems the best bet.

My garden is a weird shape if I'm honest. for I've attached (hopefully) again a terrible paint diagram of the rough shape. Black = house, red = garage, blue = fence, green = the trees in question that are mine)

In terms of size, from the house to the fence behind the trees is ~12m (~39 feet?), then from the garage bit to the fence with the tree line is ~13m (~42 feet) The trees/drop off to the slope are approx 9m from the house


I'd speak with the neighbours about the tree situation. You'll probably find they'll be over the moon at their removal. If the slope is gentle then I can't see drainage being a problem.[/QUOTE]

Speaking to them could be a plan to give them a heads up, the slope initally from the grass is relatively steep but it does become gentler towards the fence., but if I place down topsoil once the trees come out that could help to start right?

 

If there are birds nesting in them then you should wait until the fledglings have left the nest(s) but apart from that you can prune or cut them down any time you like. You shouldn't disturb nesting birds either by pruning or cutting down.

As far as replacements go, more-or-less anything non-conifer is better than leylandii. If you want something that you can clip into a hedge you can do a lot worse than privet - it grows fairly fast, isn't too fussy about conditions and can be cut back hard as you like if it gets out of control. For non-hedge, how about a mix of ornamental shrubs? You wouldn't need many because you would space them more widely to allow each one room to grow. Most of the flowering shrubs are deciduous but for most people, complete screening is less of an issue in the winter.

 

Don't pile soil up against the fence panels - it will make the wood rot.