laylendii- Am I in trouble here?

Jen44

Bought this house in Sep, these are the trees after we cut away the bottom branches and filled 15 m3 bags!! Do i need to get rid? I kind of like the idea of a little forest at the end of the garden but getting worried now after reading stuff about their growth! I thought theses ones were at the highest they could grow !

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Oldtree

trouble..... yes

They will be blocking someones light and they love the temperate climate here. may be better to do the deed now rather than later.

A sorbus and hazel mix would look nice down there, maby with a few other flowering shrubs to add color at different times of the year. the hazel on its own will easily give you a bit of privacy in the summer if you prune it to grow upwards.

Jen44

oh dear!! At this point I have visions of cherry pickers being needed!! Will it cost a fortune to get them taken down? Its a pity i do like them if i thought they were finished growing i would have gotten them topped and left it at that.

Hoof Hearted2

Hard to tell from the picture, but they look more like lawsons, than leylandii. Unless they are posing an immediate risk or the neighbours are complaining I wouldn't do anything for the time being, but you are postponing the inevitable.

Jen44

whats the difference between lawsons and leylandii are lawsons slower growing??

photo.PNG not sure if this is any clearer

Roselm

Jen44 wrote: »

whats the difference between lawsons and leylandii are lawsons slower growing??

photo.PNG not sure if this is any clearer

Leylandii are usually denser growing than that.
Don't know anything about lawsons I'm afraid

celticbhoy27

Id get rid too. That euphorbia (robbiae) in the front of the pic is a bit of a thug too. Be careful of its sap. Its irritant to human skin

Jen44

Is that he little bush in the front with the lighter green colouring at the top?? It's a bit of a blank canvas to me I'm going to get rid of most of the shrubs around the sides and plants some magnolias and foxglove and a few other bits to bring some colour in! I'm delighted to have a nice long garden just really in two minds about the trees! Any thoughts about getting them topped and seeing how we go?? The leaves did go right down the ground and right out till half way down the little square paved area before we cut off the bottom branches

celticbhoy27

Jen44 wrote: »

Is that he little bush in the front with the lighter green colouring at the top?? It's a bit of a blank canvas to me I'm going to get rid of most of the shrubs around the sides and plants some magnolias and foxglove and a few other bits to bring some colour in! I'm delighted to have a nice long garden just really in two minds about the trees! Any thoughts about getting them topped and seeing how we go?? The leaves did go right down the ground and right out till half way down the little square paved area before we cut off the bottom branches

Yeah thats the one. The foliage itself isnt irritant but its sap (milk like) is. Can cause blisters. Wear gloves and cover up if removing it. As far as the conifers, id get rid. If you top a leylandi it will still find a way of growing up so IF they are leylandi youl be back in same boat in no time

Jen44

Thanks for that! Although I absolutely love gardening I'm very much an amateur so I probably would have ended up with hands full of blisters!

melissak

Jen44 wrote: »

oh dear!! At this point I have visions of cherry pickers being needed!! Will it cost a fortune to get them taken down? Its a pity i do like them if i thought they were finished growing i would have gotten them topped and left it at that.

Add your reply here.
If you top them like a hedge and prune every year they will stay whatever height. Are you sure they are lelandi they are very tall and skinny. Maybe that is because they are tight together. Is it that they are blocking the light because lots of nice things like shade And there are plenty of other sunny spots. It might look a bit bare if you take them down straight away.

melissak

Jen44 wrote: »

oh dear!! At this point I have visions of cherry pickers being needed!! Will it cost a fortune to get them taken down? Its a pity i do like them if i thought they were finished growing i would have gotten them topped and left it at that.

Add your reply here.
If you top them like a hedge and prune every year they will stay whatever height. Are you sure they are lelandi they are very tall and skinny. Maybe that is because they are tight together. Is it that they are blocking the light because lots of nice things like shade And there are plenty of other sunny spots. It might look a bit bare if you take them down straight away.

Wanderer78

Chop chop op. In the middle of removing mine. Unless you're willing to keep on top of them, get rid of them. It's taken me months to bin the waste, only left with logs now. Will try burn them

Kat1170

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Chop chop op. In the middle of removing mine. Unless you're willing to keep on top of them, get rid of them. It's taken me months to bin the waste, only left with logs now. Will try burn them

They will burn grand once completely dry, split them before drying as they can be difficult to split afterwards due to all the knots. Can be a bit on the sparky side.

Wanderer78

Kat1170 wrote:

They will burn grand once completely dry, split them before drying as they can be difficult to split afterwards due to all the knots. Can be a bit on the sparky side.

Was told that. Thanks. Have a lot of work to do then.

melissak

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Kat1170 wrote:

They will burn grand once completely dry, split them before drying as they can be difficult to split afterwards due to all the knots. Can be a bit on the sparky side.

Was told that. Thanks. Have a lot of work to do then.

Add your reply here.
Apparently they are great for making shingles..

Jen44

I have to say the trees dont really bother me in fact i like them and i havent noticed a huge amount of shade. Which prob means its in the neighbours gardens! However the trees are there around forty odd years so dont think they are bothering anyone else around. The thing that worried me is my uncle who is a landscaper was like cut them down as soon as he saw them. He said they are not worth the trouble and would continue to grow around a metre or so a year which scared me a little!! I think i might try top them and trim them and see if we can keep up the maintenance. After filling all the bags full of the bottom branches and the hard work that involved I will have to get someone professional in. We wouldnt be able to get up that high anyway!!

Wanderer78

Jen44 wrote: »

I have to say the trees dont really bother me in fact i like them and i havent noticed a huge amount of shade. Which prob means its in the neighbours gardens! However the trees are there around forty odd years so dont think they are bothering anyone else around. The thing that worried me is my uncle who is a landscaper was like cut them down as soon as he saw them. He said they are not worth the trouble and would continue to grow around a metre or so a year which scared me a little!! I think i might try top them and trim them and see if we can keep up the maintenance. After filling all the bags full of the bottom branches and the hard work that involved I will have to get someone professional in. We wouldnt be able to get up that high anyway!!

just be aware, that could be costly. didnt entertain getting somebody in, id rather do the work myself anyway. thankfully have access to scaffolding and chainsaw. bought a shredder, job done.

Jen44

Aw yea i would love to do it myself! Just know I wouldnt be able to get up that high! Any idea of the cost anyone??

Wanderer78

Jen44 wrote: »

Aw yea i would love to do it myself! Just know I wouldnt be able to get up that high! Any idea of the cost anyone??

dont be surprised of quotes of a grand or two!

melissak

Jen44 wrote: »

Aw yea i would love to do it myself! Just know I wouldnt be able to get up that high! Any idea of the cost anyone??

Maybe have a look on adverts. I've seen a few adds from people willing to cut down trees for free or cheaply in exchange for the wood. I don't know what kinds of trees they are interested in. If those trees are 40years old I would think then too skinny for lelandi. Maybe it's a trick of photos though, what diameter are they
Add your reply here.

Jen44

Its hard to tell really its strange the way they have grown its like a big trunk but loads of skinny branches have grown off it and straight up so they are the ones you can mostly see in the photo. i will try take some photos of the trunks when i get home as I would love to know what they really are and how best to deal with them

Marhay70

If you are hiring someone to take them down make sure you get a qualified tree surgeon with public liability insurance, lots of problems can arise when taking down large trees, not least their deciding to fall in a direction other than what you would prefer.
In particular don't hire someone who offers to tarmac your drive at the same time.

Jen44

I hear you Marhay!!

magicbastarder

i took down fifteen foot tall ones myself. yours seem a little taller though.
lot of work though; i used an overhead lopping saw to pare them back, a manual one. my father in law has a chainsaw which did for the rest.