Topic: Taming a Leylandii

[Baaaaaaaa]

My nextdoor neighbour, who is a non-gardener, has allowed a Leylandii to grow on his side of my 6 foot fence.

The plant is now 8 foot high and is blocking out quite a bit of sun.

How can I nobble this monster WITHOUT him knowing ?

What will happen if I dig out the ALL the roots that are on my side of the fence ?
I heard that conifers don't like salt,  so can I poison the earth as  I back fill the hole ?
What If I just unearthed the roots and glyphosated them ?

Are there better ways (WITHOUT him knowing) ?

[Baccy Man]

Why can't your neighbour know?
I am not exactly a leylandii fan I think the only good use for them is as mulch but killing plants in someone elses garden is not on. Why not talk to your neighbour & find a better solution. If it is still only 8' tall it can easily be kept pruned to a reasonable height. Make your neighbour aware they can easily grow 3' a year & eventually reach 90' if left to grow unchecked they may well decide it is better to get rid of it now.
There are plenty of ways to kill leylandii trees but if you don't have your neighbours consent you would be breaking the law, it would be much better if you could reach an amicable solution.

[Barnowl]

Having had Baccyman's very sound advice, this seems an opportunity for  some serious creativity:

...... how about  a BBQ?  Accidents will happen- especially if by mistake you use petrol instead of lighter fluid

........a skydiver with a giant pencil sharpener drifts off course

...... your truffle pig gets out of control


I'll get me coat

[Baaaaaaaa]

Why can't your neighbour know?

Because he's a complete ass. What ever you say, he'll do the opposite. If I suggest a gentle pruning, next week he'll go out and buy 10 more Leylandii - just for the hell of it. Also, as he's a non-gardener, I can't see him ever pruning it, even if forced to by law.

I don't particularly want it to die,  just ... not grow. I've tried persuading it before with a snip here and there, but it just keeps growing. To lop the whole top off would be a bit obvious.

I did think of planting something equally as vigorous, and then 'slipping' when pruning my own plant, but that would take too long to establish.

If it did die, and,  if he ever asked my advise (hell would freeze over first), I can blame it on last years wet weather, or a dry winter, or squirrels, or giant underground slugs.

Plants can and do have stunted growth for many unseen reasons. I just want to help it along.


I like the idea of a BBQ with petrol. The only trouble is the fence, it would kind of get burnt as well -
What about a BBQ where you dig a hole and cook things underground, (just where the roots are) ?

I know someone with a few pigs. Perhaps I could pig-sit them for a few days.


Are there any beavers in the Midlands that I could get hold of ? Or,  would some rabbits take a liking to it ?

[inski]

I Dont know if you fancy this, but apparently they don't take kindly to being urinated on! Takes a while but after a few months they will start to die !!!!    :P

[Baaaaaaaa]

Excellent,  I currently do this on the compost heap,  but I suppose I could hang over the fence on a dark night !

Glad its not a holly.   :o

[asbean]

...... how about  a BBQ?  Accidents will happen- especially if by mistake you use petrol instead of lighter fluid

Don't even think about it.  You could do more damage to you and those around you with even just a drop of petrol, and it probably wouldn't hurt the tree at all.

[Baccy Man]

Peeing on it can take years to kill to do any noticable damage it just builds up the salt levels in the soil. If you poured a load of salt water on it regularly it would drastically speed things up but it will leave the soil unusable for ages until the salt washes through. The salt will also leach into your garden if it is close to the fence.
Don't get caught like this person did.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/tm_objectid=16915039&method=full&siteid=94762-name_page.html

A better method is to excavate some large roots, drill holes in them fill the holes with one of the following: potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, copper sulphate (sbk should work if you can't get any of these). Use wax to seal the holes & cover the root with soil again within a few weeks the tree will start looking very unhealthy. If it recovers repeat the process. When it is dead it is likely to be highly flammable so will need to be removed before it becomes a fire hazard.

[Barnowl]

...... how about  a BBQ?  Accidents will happen- especially if by mistake you use petrol instead of lighter fluid

Don't even think about it.  You could do more damage to you and those around you with even just a drop of petrol, and it probably wouldn't hurt the tree at all.

I was only joking!

[ACE]

Report it  to the council and get an asbo put on the hedge, any hedge over 2 metres high can be reported.

[Baaaaaaaa]

Ace,
As a Friend of mine has proved, reporting something to the council ans gettting them to do anything about it are two very different things. Doing cost money.
It ain't worth the effort - particularly if one can find some 'giant underground slugs' do the the job for you.
Don't vine weavils eat roots ?



Barnowl,
Your suggestion still has the benefit of not needing to pluck my eyebrows or having a wax.
If I can manage to sit on the fence,  urinate over the Leylandii and light the BBQ all at the same time, I'd kill the tree, and get a back and crack wax all at the same time.   :o



I think I'll stick to digging out the roots on my side of the fence & putting some bricks in the hole to stop roots coming into my garden (maybe even salted bricks). It may not kill it, but it'll slow its growth.

[Barnowl]

There's some stuff called Root Out that looks promising

http://www.selections.com/GF1911/deep-root-tree-stump-killer/

[djbrenton]

The difficulty is using Root Out covertly. To kill a tree you ring it and cover the stripped area with Root Out protected with plastic. Stumps are easier as you cover the cut end and protect it with plastic. I've no idea if cutting all the roots on your side and putting Root Out on the cut ends would do it as I suspect you need to get at pretty big roots to have a major effect. I do suspect treating the cut ends of major roots would some major damage to the leyaldii though.

[Baccy Man]

Root out shouldn't still be available, products containing ammonium sulphamate were withdrawn from the market distributors and retailers had until 22 November 2007 to advertise and sell their existing stocks. They are supposed to be used up by 22 May 2008. In accordance with the EC Decision (2006/797/EC) which was published on 23 November 2006.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Sodium chlorate surreptitiously applied would so the job.

[Steven]

A family nearby never bothered trimming their huge and i mean really huge Leylandi & were ordered by the council to cut them down entirely cos of their size.They chose to ignore the multiple letters which were sent and in the end-the council hired a company to completely remove them.

The family came home from work to find the trees gone and were happy that it didnt cost them a penny or an ounce of sweat...then they received a bill from the council for £1000.They had to pay in the end and it could have been done so much cheaper had they gotten off their fat asses.

So,if i was you-i would complain to the council and when your neighbour dont comply after a few warnings...it will be done and he will get billed.

Either that or hammer copper roofing nails into the trunks-copper is poisonous...

[Robert_Brenchley]

I tried that on an unwanted sycamore in my hedge, and did it no harm whatsoever.

[jesssands]

think we have the same problem, our is a neighbour just down the road a little, been asking him for about 5 years on and off to deal with it, complete ass, has changed his story from its not mine its hers next door, our reply was, well thats ok cos she says we can cut it down, he then back tracked to it being his, and we could trim off 6" off the top if we wanted to. Then on a couple of occasions he says, I'll do it in september when its finished growing for this year, of course he doesn't.
Attaching a pic of it, it does block out some light to our dining room and of course you can see its spoiling our otherwise beautiful view of the hills.
I did try the council, firstly you have to prove that you have approached the tree owner on several occasions and that no other solution can be reached, the give the council £500 to start proceedings!



Pic taken from our house couple of years back

[davholla]

A family nearby never bothered trimming their huge and i mean really huge Leylandi & were ordered by the council to cut them down entirely cos of their size.They chose to ignore the multiple letters which were sent and in the end-the council hired a company to completely remove them.

The family came home from work to find the trees gone and were happy that it didnt cost them a penny or an ounce of sweat...then they received a bill from the council for £1000.They had to pay in the end and it could have been done so much cheaper had they gotten off their fat asses.

So,if i was you-i would complain to the council and when your neighbour dont comply after a few warnings...it will be done and he will get billed.

Either that or hammer copper roofing nails into the trunks-copper is poisonous...

Copper sulphate solution would also work well.
Illegal of course.

[tim]

In the same boat as everyone else. Probably without a paddle!!
Mentioned earlier. New neighbour, doesn't even live here permanently yet, wants our specimens (not Leylandii) out.

Yes, they do shade his lawn. He bought 'as seen', but he has the law on his side. Even after 50 years.
Ludicrous!!
Your problem, Jess - I may be mean, but, at that distance, I can't see the overgrown tree shading you? Yes - taking a little direct sun but not daylight? And no one is entitled to a view. Regrettably.
You could say that our tallest (again not Leylandii) conifer (54') might possibly block someone's view from something in the village? Let them try!!