Is this Leylandii?

Discussion in 'Identification Area' started by YellowLab, Oct 28, 2018.

  1. shiney

    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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    The main trunk, which you would have cut back, will not grow any further. Lower branches will continue to grow outwards and upwards if left to themselves.

    So, the simple answer is that you will continue to need to get to the top to cut back the outer branches that are growing upwards. There is no quick solution and you will probably be best to cut it at least twice a year.
     
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    • Marley Farley

      Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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      Hi @YellowLab yes topping them off will stop vertical growth but you will need to trim every year as the top branches will always grow upwards as they have all the light. We used to cut our Leylandii at my parents every year and it always kept its shape and looked nice. Now would be an excellent time to do it and then a light trim if necessary in early Spring before the birds start nesting. Good Luck :thumbsup:
       
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      • YellowLab

        YellowLab Apprentice Gardener

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        Right, ok I have an idea of the maintenance involved now, thank you. If we reduce them to 1/3, they would still be over 10’ tall. Getting up that high to prune them twice a year would be a challenge, as I am vertically challenged myself (ie, short!), and getting a professional out would be too costly. I wonder if the long term solution would be to save up to have them removed :/ I feel like Leylandii should be on a banned plant list, as too often they are left to become unmanageable.

        If we do go the route of removing them, we will have about 5 homes looking directly down on our garden. What would be a sensible option to plant for privacy, that is fast growing but remains manageable?
         
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        • NigelJ

          NigelJ Total Gardener

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          Thanks to my local council putting a preservation order on a shelter belt of fast growing trees in the early 80s I have a selection of Leylandii, Cupressus, Larch and Sitka spruce growing alongside my house. Needless to say dry and shady. Growing under them among other things is Iris foetidissima (self seeds), A variegated Dead nettle, Ivy (has to be kept under control, could try variegated), a number of hardy geraniums have self seeded including G phaeum and I have recently seen a cyclamen has self seeded into the area. All of these grow within about 6 to 8 ft of the trees sometimes right up to the stump. You could try some of these watering will be needed to establish them. Also I have the advantage of Devon's rainfall, most years, and a moisture retentive clay soil. @YellowLab you don't say where you are or type of soil in the rest of the garden; so the above may be of no use, but.
           
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          • YellowLab

            YellowLab Apprentice Gardener

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            6EE92BCC-BB8E-4CBD-83FF-1EAFD5507CE2.jpeg I am in North Yorkshire. I’m not sure the type of soil, possibly loamy? The pH is around 6.5, and seems quite decent soil. The garden was absolutely rampant with nettles when we moved in, I’ve since cleared it all out.
             
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            • YellowLab

              YellowLab Apprentice Gardener

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              After speaking with my other half, I’m now waffling on topping the trees down to a height I can still prune on a ladder, or removing all together. Cost is also a major factor, as we have had to spend so much of our savings already on this house-ownership adventure! I’m worried the cost of removing them all will be eye watering, but will have to speak to a tree surgeon.

              I just want to do the best solution possible, that is within our financial means.

              I’ve cleaned up the bare trunks on the already pruned portion, and it looks much better. Perhaps not ideal, but at least better.
               
            • Silver surfer

              Silver surfer PLANTAHOLIC

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              Quote..."I think that’s a bit harsh and uncalled for.."

              Aplologies if I offended you...that was not my intention.
              I was trying to point out our own experience re tree growth and the very real problems of subsidence/conifers near to properties which had not been raised in previous answers.
               
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              • YellowLab

                YellowLab Apprentice Gardener

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                My apologies also if I got a bit heated, and misunderstood you. If I were to rip out the Leylandii entirely, would this cause an issue with subsidence? There are 6 that are quite large in diameter, and 6 that are still small in diameter but quite tall. I’m wondering if the roots being removed/dying would cause the soil to shift?

                I guess my question is...which is better in the long term re:subsidence issues, removing them or keeping them topped/pruned?
                 
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                • andrews

                  andrews Super Gardener

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                  This takes me back to our second house. We inherited leylandii along the left and top borders. The ones on the left were only 5ft tall but a constant maintenance issue. These were taken out as the neighbour had a good wooden fence in place behind the conifers.

                  The ones at the top of the garden were taller than the ones in your image but belonged to the neighbour behind us. They didn't cause us an issue but did mean that the soil was dry and not much would grow.

                  A look on google maps and, 30+ years later, the trees are still there (behind the trampoline) and pretty big.

                  Capture1.JPG

                  Where am I going here ?

                  If it was me I'd remove them when funds allow and plant with a more suitable hedge.

                  I'm not a tree hater, having planted mixed native hedging around our chicken paddock (a week long maintenance task once a year).

                  We are gradually replacing a hawthorn hedge with laurel at the top of our garden but something like this may not grow tall enough to give your privacy.

                  Hopes Grove Nursery will give you a few ideas of what to replace with (if you go down that route).
                   
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                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                    I'm pretty sure it would be. :sad: One of the major problems is that you don't realise how much wood and leaf there is until you start taking it down. They would need to have a wood chipper for all the branches and then cart the trunks away (cut up) as well. So trying to do it yourself, or with friends, is possibly out of the question. When I had my 22 trees removed it cost, if I remember correctly, £600 to cut down, remove the debris, bring in a stump grinder and clear up afterwards. That was quite a reasonable price and it took three men most of a day. It would have been more expensive if they hadn't been able to bring their machinery alongside the trees.

                    Half of the trees had been cut down to 10ft a few years before but we had the whole lot taken out in one go.

                    The trees were alongside the driveway, which made it easier
                    P1210216.JPG

                    The stump grinding made a bit of a mess but dug up the ground as well. We asked them to take away just over half of the grindings and replaced that with horse manure and our own garden compost.
                    P1210242.JPG

                    P1220891.JPG

                    That's why everything has now grown so abundantly.
                     
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                    • andrews

                      andrews Super Gardener

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                      £600 sounds like a very fair price. We recently had 3 men and a serious (£22K :wow:) shredder chip down my pile of trees and that was £180 for 30 mins work. Granted, there was travel time as well. It saved me two skips and gave me a good pile of mulch.

                      The other option is a chain saw and get it down in the next 5 days and get a group of youngsters to take it away for a bonfire. But I guess that doesn't happen now as it did back in the day :old:.
                       
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                      • Silver surfer

                        Silver surfer PLANTAHOLIC

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                        Please do not think about doing anything with a chain saw.
                        Without full training and the protective special mesh clothing they can be lethal.

                        Over several years we have felled many bigger trees as well as conifers with nothing more than a bow saw and long strong rope, to fell it exactly where we wanted..... plus a lot of very hard work...those tiny saplings I mentioned earlier...that grew and needed thinning out.

                        Felling yourself can be done in approx 30 -60mins ...removing branches and getting rid of them is what takes the hard work and time.( Expensive if you hire a shredder.)

                        Using children/adults to take the branches away for bonfire night on 5th November is a brilliant idea. The resin in conifer branches makes them burn really well.
                         
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                        • YellowLab

                          YellowLab Apprentice Gardener

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                          I think ours will be very problematic because they would only have access through a small garden gate :/
                           
                        • YellowLab

                          YellowLab Apprentice Gardener

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                          I might go the handsaw + rope method...will definitely need to watch some YouTube videos first so I know what I’m doing. That’s a brilliant idea about Bonfire Night!
                           
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                          • Marley Farley

                            Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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                            To be honest @YellowLab if I was you I would just bite the bull it and get rid of them now and put up a fence and shrubs... In the long run I think it would be cheaper.. You can get problems with them as they get older and they take all the goodness out of the ground...
                            Tree surgeons can and do, work in very difficult areas and I don’t think your garden would be a problem at all as long as they can park chipper etc close by... If you entry is narrow it is doubtful you would be able to get a stump grinder in there as they are pretty big.... Thereare other ways to get the stumps out... Get a tree surgeon in for a quote for removal... Most do free quotes... That way you would know how much to take out completely or reduce to a more manageable height... :SUNsmile:
                             
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