Topic: Leylandii Problem

[Svengali]

No - not the usual one!
We bought this property in December 04. The plot measures 150' x 150' with the house in one corner.
Two of the sides are bounded by fields, one by a cemetery (VERY quiet neighbours!). The remaining side by a private lane.
At some time in the past, whoever owned the property planted leylandii as a windbreak along both of the field boundaries and about 30' of the lane boundary. They don't interfere with anyone else, but they were planted 18" apart - I have hundreds of 'em!
They are now about 8' high, the maximum height that I want them to grow. I suspect that as soon as I start circumcising them, they will bush out in the bottom. They are obviously much too close together, but I suspect that the roots are all intertwined, and if I try to pull any out, they will come out in a daisy chain.
We DO need the windbreak - Chicago ain't got nutthin on Haverigg!
All suggestions welcomed.

JeremyB

[jennym]

I have dug out leylandii of this size, and amazingly enough for the height of the tree, the roots are usually quite small.
There is a really good link here that will answer most of your questions I think:
http://www.tmac.clara.co.uk/urgring/faqleyld.htm

Hope this helps.

[Paulines7]

We have a similar problem with our Leylandi which are now about 12 feet high.  We had them cut back about 5 years ago but they have grown again since then and take up about 7 feet of our back garden.  We have thought of getting rid of them but they form a boundary between us and the ends of several gardens which have compost heaps, junk etc.  We would lose all our privacy.  Fortunately, no-one has asked us to cut them down or reduce the size of them.  We couldn't afford to have them taken down and to install a 6ft fence.

Svengali, if they are acting as a windbreak I would think twice about getting rid of them.  It will take a long time to get shrubs and trees tall enough to replace them and a fence would not last very long in that situation.  I would cut the tops off to about 6 ft and trim the sides.  You will have to do it quickly before the birds start nesting or alternatively wait until the autumn.

[Mimi]

I'm no expert but why not just cut down every other one and then cut them down to the size you would like.  That way you thin them out and reduce the hight.  My daughter has some growing in the back of her married quarters that must be about 30 ft high and are so big they are stopping her getting Sky TV.  Shes waiting for a nice young man with a big chainsaw to cut them down to about 8 ft. ;D

[Svengali]

I found that link very useful Jenny. I will do a "Short back & sides" as soon as I get back from holiday. If I cut down every second tree - giving me 3' spacing, how long will they take to fill the gap?

JeremyB

[ipt8]

If you cut off the ones you do not want as low as you can so no live branches are left below where you cut, Leylandii will not regrow...end of problem :D

BUT a word of caution :-\  the ones left must also have green branches for them to grow out. If the closeness of the other plants/trees has caused the branches to die-back then no re-growth will appear from the brown branches with dead foliage on them. Other green and thus live branches will most likely spread to fill the gaps but it will take longer.

A lot of people make the mistake with Leylandii, Lawson and Western Red Cedar of cutting back the sides of the hedge so no green foliage is left and the hedge is then bear on that side as it will not regrow.

If it was a yew, privet or Laurel hedge then it is not a problem. New shoots will develop from the bare wood.

Leylandii do not have to be tightly packed. They were planted so close to provide a dense hedge, usually at one yard spacings in two staggered rows. On  a large plot or field they could well be six to eight feet apart and they will grow together . The closeness gives a hedge sooner and a dense bottom to the hedge. It depends what you want. If you plan to have wide spacing do it sooner rather than later as Leylandii are very shallow rooting and will topple if not allowed to spread their roots early.

Remember these are forest trees and WILL grow to sixty to ninety feet. They are OK as hedges if you keep them well trimmed. They can easily grow three feet a year so cut at least two feet below where you want the height of your hedge to be. Leylandii usually need trimming twice a year.

 ;)

Regards
Ivor (a Forester !)

[grawrc]

We had a Leylandii hedge in our last garden. It was "trimmed"/ cut back severely at least once a year, limiting its sideways spread and limiting its height to 6-7 feet. it was a fantastic hedge and windbreak full of wildlife.
IMHO anything bigger than 8 feet is unneighbourly/ irresponsible/ you live in Beckingham Palace and don't give a d**n.