How would you improve this tree

listermint

Have a Leylandi , well I believe it is.

Was trimmed back too much a few years ago resulting in the bottom turning out like that. It needs some light trimming up to to bring some shape .

Other than that how would you improve its look? Can the bottom half be trimmed in to trunk or would that even work

listermint

Forgot the photo . Attached

Shaunoc

What ever you cut off is an improvement. It's impressively odd and comical.
Chop chop

Jim_Hodge

What's dead is dead. Cut it all away and leave a lower bare trunk.

But almost certainly has a nest or two in it. Would be good to leave for a few months, it's not going to do it any harm.

Treehelpplease

When you know its empty of nests, cut back the dead stuff. Plant a circular flower bed encasing the base with bee and bird friendly plants. This is an opportunity to make a very nice feature tree.

magicbastarder

[Deleted User] wrote: »

But almost certainly has a nest or two in it. Would be good to leave for a few months, it's not going to do it any harm.

Of course, you'd leave it till September. But I cut down 70 foot of overgrown leylandii hedging a few years ago and I found a single nest which was clearly years old.

Jim_Hodge

magicbastarder wrote: »

Of course, you'd leave it till September. But I cut down 70 foot of overgrown leylandii hedging a few years ago and I found a single nest which was clearly years old.

Yes, leylandii aren't great for nesting birds at all. One of the reasons they're not recommended for wildlife friendly planting.

standardg60

Jim_Hodge wrote: »

Yes, leylandii aren't great for nesting birds at all. One of the reasons they're not recommended for wildlife friendly planting.

Agreed, and the problem with removing the lower dead branches is they are most likely the same branches which are providing the growth higher up.
Personally i would rip it out altogether and plant something more aesthetic or beneficial.

Lumen

Prune to ground level.

listermint

[Deleted User] wrote: »

But almost certainly has a nest or two in it. Would be good to leave for a few months, it's not going to do it any harm.

Nothing in it. There's various other locations they've decided to nest on the garden. But this trees always avoided it. Not nice spot I presume . Although there's two breeding pairs of pigeons in another Leylandi but that's part of a large 16 foot edge.

I'm not looking forward to pruning back it's as thick as anything. Fun job this one !

Shaunoc

Tiny chainsaw

listermint

Shaunoc wrote: »

Tiny chainsaw

Tiny dancer

J.R.

If it has one main trunk - I would trim it to get a bare lower trunk







or you could surround in in a picket fence higher than the dead branches

Hal1

Trim back the dead stuff at the base, to expose the roots so they get sunlight. Then maybe try your hand at tree sculpting / shaping it, into something a bit better.


http://landscape-d.com/img/images/plant/51_photo.jpg

magicbastarder

it's a leylandii, which means you can't chop back past the green - not a great plant to try to retroactively shape.

Just to add, it could well be a Lawson Cypress, I have found that to be much more commonly planted in gardens, certainly in the west, than Leylandii. Not too closely related, although they look similar. Lawson has the little pea size cones, difference in foliage is more subtle. I doubt there is much difference in pruning etc, but might be worth establishing. There is also Thuja, another lookalike, but I don't think this is one.

standardg60

Deleted User wrote: »

Just to add, it could well be a Lawson Cypress, I have found that to be much more commonly planted in gardens, certainly in the west, than Leylandii. Not too closely related, although they look similar. Lawson has the little pea size cones, difference in foliage is more subtle. I doubt there is much difference in pruning etc, but might be worth establishing. There is also Thuja, another lookalike, but I don't think this is one.

Definitely a leylandii for me, zooming in on the pic reveals the sprays to be radial around the stem, due to the cross with cupressus, lawson and thuja will have flattened sprays.

standardg60

standardg60 wrote: »

Definitely a leylandii for me, zooming in on the pic reveals the sprays to be radial around the stem, due to the cross with cupressus, lawson and thuja will have flattened sprays.

You have a practised eye. I need to get fierce close to distinguish between them.

JPA

Best thing you could do is just get rid of it!

biddyearley

Jim_Hodge wrote: »

Yes, leylandii aren't great for nesting birds at all. One of the reasons they're not recommended for wildlife friendly planting.

Nonsense. In the country and a favorite nesting tree for woodpigeon and blackbirds. Another benefit was the protection of a line of native aspen in an adjoining field which have since flourished and suckered right along the boundary hedge. If they are large enough to be pruned, their understory can facilitate the growth of ivy on the ground which is a native plant and beneficial to various fauna.



I find there's a silver lining to most plants, in spite of some of their drawbacks.

Dempo1

listermint wrote: »

Forgot the photo . Attached

That's quite extraordinary, is it one tree? Extremely wide, I've never seen one so wide.

I've about 12 of these trees, 20 years old, grown from saplings, used as a divider for my garden and adjoining site I have, they are probably up to 30ft and some more.

My problem was not as drastic as yours but I stripped each one up to 9ft from the ground and it required a chainsaw in parts, exposing trunk and allowing them to breath. Its a dirty job and branches when cut very sticky although your lower foliage looks dry. I'm just surprised your tree has survived but would look spectacular if trimmed.

Attached is what I did, about 2 years ago.

I would doubt any nesting to worry about but I would hold off till later in the year or thouraghly check first before doing anything. Your not restricted from working on this as its private property but its the decent thing to do, checking for nesting etc.

Dempo1

biddyearley wrote: »

Nonsense. In the country and a favorite nesting tree for woodpigeon and blackbirds. Another benefit was the protection of a line of native aspen in an adjoining field which have since flourished and suckered right along the boundary hedge. If they are large enough to be pruned, their understory can facilitate the growth of ivy on the ground which is a native plant and beneficial to various fauna.



I find there's a silver lining to most plants, in spite of some of their drawbacks.

I have to agree but admitidly mine are 30 feet tall and close together, I've loads of birds in them, large and small and my garden like an orchestra in the morning