The monsters that are leylandi conifers

[paula1 10]

Does anyone know how to stop the wretched things growing? My dad has them round his garden and cant afford to have them taken out, he has had them cut down to about 6 feet but I wondered if there was anything to treat them with to stop them growing. He doesnt really want to kill them just stunt their growth upwards.. Any ideas friends?

[muckynees 10]

sorry i dont even know what they are!!!

[carpetviper 10]

salt water will stop em might kill them though.

[H.P 10]

salt water will stop em might kill them though.

Does this work on all trees??

[paula1 10]

Muckynees, they are an evergreen tree that start as a lovely little twiggy thing but grow rapidly, they can reach tremendous heights if not attended to.Dont know if you are familiar with the paddling pools at rivelin, look up as you enter, they are the tall slender trees that must be 70-80 feet tall at least. They are spectacular in wooded areas but not really suitable for small gardens.

[muckynees 10]

no wonder your dad dont want em growin paula1, probably not very environmentaly friendly of me but i would def cut them down

[Ms Macbeth 73]

Trim them twice a year, we had them as a hedge in our last garden, they looked really good when they'd been cut back, but it does involve a bit of work. Excellent for privacy, but awful if they are allowed to grow out of control.

[juhbuh 10]

i spent 8 years of my life, previously, as a tree surgeon and spent a large proportion of that time trimming the damn things. they are not hedge trees unless artificially kept like it, by regular trimming. thier dna tells them to try to grow to thier natural 100ft tall height, and they will if not kept on top of. trouble is, people plant them because of thier fast growing capabilities but then don't want the maintenance liability this creates in the future. chop 'em down and be done with it. as a non-native species they have no environmental benefit, supporting no food chains. ok, they can provide some nesting sites for birds with nowhere else to go but they're far too dense for most of our native bird species as a preference. using some dodgy method to kill them while they stand will leave them as dangerous eyesores which will cost twice as much to remove!

[In Uppers 10]

Is it true that their roots grow as long as their height. Thats why a lot of people who have them in the gardens end up with problems with their foundations cus the roots grow under the house??????

[bluesandtwos 10]

we have them at the front of our house for privacy, but they are kept strictly in check at 6ft by taking off the top at least a couple of times a year. either that or take em out as I don't know of any method to stop them growing (that invention would be worth a fortune to all those with hedges)

[Draggletail 54]

Easiest things in the world to kill if you wanted to, bowsaw through the trunk, lily livered thing is done for.

 

Try getting rid of an ash that way

 

as an aside, I hate conifers - I took six out of our present garden, one of the first jobs when we moved in.

never mind the decorating, prioratise the important stuff

 

They can play an important part in drowning sound from busy roads and stuff though if planted close together as a hedge.

 

The beasts.

[Strix 11]

They can play an important part in drowning sound from busy roads and stuff though if planted close together as a hedge.

though as they don't have greenery inside, only on the outside, there are evergreen fast-growing alternatives such as laurel or hawthorn which are a much better option