Leylandii Advice

LaAlgerie

Hi all,



I'm looking for some advice about this.



I've taken over a house where in the back garden, these line the back wall. They are mature, about 30 years old. For the benefits of privacy (very unkempt house behind, uncivilised people) and as a windbreaker, and the benefits of pleasant greenery, they're great.



I had been in a habbit of getting help to trim them every 2 years. When gardeners became scarce last year (overbooked), I got some pruners and did it myself. I learned online that they are best maintained by 2 trims per year, or worst case just the 1. If not, hedges transform into trees.

My Leylandii have already transformed from hedges into trees.



I'm wondering:



1. Will regular trimming help train them back into hedges? Like a bonsai?
2. The bottom half of the trees had hedging removed to reduce maintenance. Can they ever regrow?


Any other tips or advice would be much appreciated.

magicbastarder

leylandii won't grow back if you cut 'through the green' - i.e. brown patches will be forever brown. they can be very hard to maintain once they get overgrown.

GreeBo

You can get them back to a hedge alright, but its going to be a wider hedge than it was before!

As above, you cant cut them back and expect them to grow, they only grow from green flesh, hence why you need to trim them at least yearly.

We have 40+ year old ones in my parents garden and they are a solid hedge, but its at least 1m wide at this stage and wavy. To get it flat you would need to let it all grow out to the widest brown bit.

How is the height on them? We found this the biggest issues as they would just constantly send up a new leader that could grow 6ft in a year. The top is now covered in Ivy which keeps the height constant, but the Ivy will kill any of the front that it grows through by shading it from the sun.

LaAlgerie

Thanks all.


I've taken it all into account!


Right, brown patches won't regrow. Some potential for re-shaping.



The leylandii I have are about about 2m +/- a little bit tall. Probably 3/4m wide. Probably about 5m in length by a tall wall. There is about 1.5 foot gap from the wall to the tree, so not a nuisance to neighbours on that side and very sharply stunted at the back from the last gardeners. The bottom half was cleared of growth years ago, before I took them on, to minimise upkeep. The height is the problem, before I did better research on this last year, I let them grow 2 years at a time enjoying the privacy and pleasant greenery. I trimmed them last Autumn to the height they're at now. I was absolutely stunned at the thickness of the branches on top, if untrimmed, they were going for the Moon... :eek:


So I'd like to trim the top again in the Spring, but since the bottom half is cleared of greenery, it might look a bit odd or short. But I'm not getting on walls twice a year, and the last gardener help I got a few years ago, they built scaffolding to trim it!



I got a few nice tools, with extendable poles of 3m which I plan to use for the next trim. They worked well last Autumn.



I've some concrete at the back also. It's increasingly rumbled. Are these trees known for disruptive roots?

celticbhoy27

Leyland get a seriously bad rep. Kept under control though they're a lovely hedge imo. I keep mine trimmed to just over 6 foot. They get a trimming about 4 times a year. The fallen cuttings mulched and fed back into the soil. It's no more maintenance than a lawn (in fact less so). They are an eye sore though when people hack the ****e out of them or let them grow out if control. Thats not a problem of the plant though thats on the gardener.

LaAlgerie

Fair observations

Well, I'm on the path of learning now, I want to do better with them! When I cut them in the Spring I'll post an update, hopefully it's good news.

Exiled1

You might take a long term view of your issue instead.

Having lived and suffered with a Leylandii hedge for over thirty five years, can I make a few observations in addition to the good advice above?
Twenty years ago I reduced my 140m hedge to 2m high. Today it stands at 3.5m despite annual cutting. Over time various parts of it have died.... ivy perhaps and a nasty little bug (can't remember name) that can do damage too.
In that time the hedge provided great shelter, but the roots marched far into my garden and sucked up most of the nutrition close by.
I trimmed it tight every year in November/December and have had to dispose of increasing amounts of clippings.
Looking back, I curse the local authority who demanded I plant the stuff. Anything would have been better!!
Recently I got a quote for five grand to cut it down and dispose of it. The cost doesn't surprise me.
My neighbours have suffered in varying degrees with hedges/trees of varying size and none have a good word to say about them.

If I had a short run of Leylandii today, I would totally get rid of it, whatever the cost, put up with the nosy neighbours for a few years while my new hedge grew and prospered.