Help identifying hedge / trees

demakinz

Hey all, I'm a total gardening novice and have just bought a house with a large garden which is surrounded by these very popular trees.

I'm trying to identify the exact type they are so I can figure out how best to manage them, They get quite tall and the limbs stick out a bit.

I'd like to cut them back a little and maybe take a few meters off the top eventually but as I said I'm and novice and have no clue if this is the right thing to do, if these trees can be pruned tight like other hedge row type trees.

any help identifying, tips on how to manage etc would be greatly appreciated.

The Continental Op

Buying a chainsaw now and getting rid of them would be a good investment.

Looks like a golden form of Leylandii to me?

Growth rate is up to a meter a year so you have to trim them and the real bad thing as a hedge is if you cut back beyond new growth the plants won't produce any more new growth from old wood.

As you can guess I don't like them ;-) but honestly there are better hedges you can plant.

looksee

They are presumably leylandii, the top ones anyway. The bottom pic presumably is golden leylandii but I can't be sure. Generally if leylandii get that big there is nothing much you can do about it. If you cut back into old wood they will not grow green again and you will have a barrier of dead looking spiky trunks. You can top them but the result is ugly.

demakinz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119804105#Comment_119804105

Thanks for that, Certainly looks like the one you suggested from the pictures I searched. Ideally Id love to get rid but that's not an option currently.

It looks like they have been just left to grow for a few years and are a bit all over the shop.

I'd love to cut about 2 meters off the top and square them off, flat at the top and sides. Do you think this is possible with this type of growth?

magicbastarder

as mentioned, they only grow from existing green growth - if you cut back past the green outer layer, it will not green up again.

macraignil

I'd guess they are Leyland cypress(Leylandii) as well and agree with what has already has been posted about them being a bit too vigorous in growth for a hedge in most settings. To keep them under control I think they need trimming at least a couple of times a year. I like the suggestion of investing in a chain saw and planting something nicer.

Happy gardening!

looksee

You can take 2m off the top, but they will look stumpy and untidy for a good while, they may never get tidy looking, though of course you don't really see the tops so much. If you square off the side you will have, as we have said, dead looking trunks which will not re-clad in green.

wildwillow

Get some quotes for removing them completely. It will cost now but save you money and misery in the long run. They will be an ongoing nuisance and will never look nice or support wildlife and birds.

standardg60

They still look a manageable size to get in shape to me.

Start at the bottom and cut in as far as keeping the green growing stuff will allow, then slope inwards as you go up, forming an inverted 'v' as much as possible. This shape is best as it lets as much light to the lower branches as possible, otherwise they can die off and look awful.

The Continental Op

My suggestion would be to take out one side at at time and replant. Lessens the shock and you could probably do it yourself.

But for now do as above. Its a slow methodical job you need to do with decent secateurs (look up felco on Amazon). You don't want to be going at it with a hedge trimmer at this stage. Me I'd run a string line along the ground to give me a line for cutting.

Wonder if after the shock of reading these posts we'll hear back from the OP?

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119805487#Comment_119805487

A secateurs for that? OP will run a mile! :-)

Long reach chainsaw would be what i'd be attacking it with, i'd imagine they could be cut a fair way back.

The Continental Op

Well if the branches are too thick then loppers or even a chain saw but I tend to do stuff up to an inch thick with felco secateurs and then curse myself later when the arthritis gets me.

If it was mine I'd happily do the job twice once with secateurs and then with a chainsaw if I then noticed I could safely cut it back further.

I just wanted to make sure the OP didn't cut too deeply.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119805782#Comment_119805782

Yep it's hard not to get the heebie jeebies when a newbie is planning to trim leylandi :-)

demakinz

Thanks everyone for the advice, I have had a few people over to help with one thing and the other the past few days and everyone is of the same opinion - Get Rid of them. We live on top of a hill 90m that falls away at back of the house. Having the trees there are blocking a really nice view of miles of farmland and bog so we are going get rid of the bottom row, then we can work on the left and right sides over time. What's even more depressing is that the trees at the bottom of the garden are taking away about 20 feet from the end of our site, so getting rid of them and putting in a fence will give us 20ft more of a garden.

There are also some really nice beach trees( i think) in the front corners and sides that are completely over taken and over shadowed by the leylandii  which is a shame because they are beautiful trees.

On the plus side there is a large willow tree in the centre of the front garden which is looking amazing.

The house we bought sits on .75 acre with a nice mature garden that has many different shrubs, grasses and trees so I will be frequenting this board often. My towney fingers are slowly turning green.

The Continental Op

What sort of soil do you have? I'm sure a few here would love to recommend suitable alternative hedges?

Probably an acid soil as that with Irelands rain seems to predominate but if you are in anyway alkaline there are a host of other possible hedge plants.

If your site is that exposed you may find the leylandii are sheltering your existing garden so taking a section down each year and replanting might be be your best option.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119812992#Comment_119812992

Know too that the bigger they get, the more hassle and cost to get rid of them. And they do grow quickly. On the positive side, they likely were planted to give shelter if you're on a hill site.

dh1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119812992#Comment_119812992

Sounds like a good approach to take the bottom of the garden first. Whilst they wouldn't be a hedge I would look to plant the fact is they do provide excellent privacy and shelter, especially if on a exposed site. They seem to be still within size to shape up and bring into some control also if you did want to. That's why I think it might be best to remove in stages. You might get a big shock once there removed as to how exposed your sight will become

looksee

Where does the prevailing wind come from? You don't want to create a wind tunnel. I would suggest you have a good look at them and leave just a few as specimens (they will not be amazing specimens as they will not have great growth on the sides) to just baffle the wind a bit then take them out when other, more reasonable, trees have grown. You would be surprised how much even two trees left from the bottom hedge will lessen the wind.

The Continental Op

Given the amount of space the current "hedge" takes up and the shelter it provides I think there is room for a mixed shelter bed and hedge, at least on the side that has the dominant wind.

What I'd plant would be a mixed hedge on the boarder line - mixed hedge, field maple, hawthorn, spindle etc and then a mix of wind tolerant trees further back. You can leave gaps to maintain the view.

As above you can leave a couple of leylandii for some initial height and shelter with a view to removing them later.

Martin121

Leyland cypress I guess