ivy on Sycamore

Heres the 'old fella'.

 

Ah, not "small" then! Its a nice looking well developed tree.

 

... and what looks like a ghastly Leylandii in your neighbour's garden, in the background :(

 

yip ... not much to say about the 'leylandii'

 

I have come to terms with my leyllandii to be honest. No it won`t win any awards but like most things if it had been looked after properly when it was first planted it wouldn`t have been allowed to get so high in the first place.

Birds love it-I have literally hundreds of birds that stop off on the way. A songthrush family grow up at the top most summers. Other baby birds grow up there but I can`t see them as they get much needed protection from watchful eyes in it`s arms. Bats use it etc.

It strips the surrounding soilk of moisture-yes, it`s leaves fall like a thick cheap carpet almost constantly, but it hides the monstrous new build housing estate behind me where there was once an orchard. Yes they aren`t the most attractive, but my particular tree isn`t quite the antichrist of the garden.

 

TBH I've not realised that it was a Leylandii. I've had another look at the proposed plans and its not showing on them so I guess thats going to be a chopped down. Its never bothered me much, however my Mums neighbours have planted them against their boundary and they are tall and nasty :(

My feeling is to try to remove as much Ivy from the tree as I can reach, but then as DH says- It'll just grow back and spread from the wall :( Ah what a quandary :(

 

It will be of benefit to the ivy in the long term. They look their absolute best when they are cleared to reinvigorate them every few years or so.

 

And thanks for bringing up my favourite subject-why ivy is beautiful.

 

Rampant ivy can indeed swamp a tree as many people have said. If you are prepared to spend a lot of time and effort (and some climbing!) it is possible to control the ivy by judicious cutting and pruning so that the tree can thrive through it. The result can be very attractive, but it entails a lot of work and constant attention so I would not recommend it as a general practice. In this case - a single tree which has a disproportionate impact on both the attractiveness of the area and for screening - it would probably be the preferred option.

 

"it won`t win any awards but like most things if it had been looked after properly when it was first planted it wouldn`t have been allowed to get so high in the first place."

That's exactly it. Leylandii can be a nicely clipped hedge, but it rarely is because it only needs to be neglected for a couple of years and the damage is done. I drove past one this morning. Beautifully clipped to about 15 feet, and then a huge spouting mass on top of that - where presumably the owner can't reach :(

Unfortunately I have Leylandii here which has been let go - all the more sad as one section was double-planted with Thuja plicata (on the "good" side) with the clear intention of felling the Leylandii when the Thuja was under way - but they never did, the Leylandii was 60' (felled now) and the Thuja is thin and uneven ... pity :(

I must take some pictures of the one that has been rejuvenated near us - its be cut down and grown on only one side (the other side is a concrete pad for sugar beet storage or somesuch)

 

"I must take some pictures of the one that has been rejuvenated near us - its be cut down and grown on only one side (the other side is a concrete pad for sugar beet storage or somesuch)"

I've taken some pictures of the "Revived Leylandii Hedge" if you are interested:

http://kgarden.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/reviving-a-leylandii-hedge/

 

It`s a good advert for keeping a leyllandii hedge in good order-so thick and a beautiful shade of green. I have to lop about a third of the height off mine-I`m told it is very reluctant to grow higher after this so fingers crossed. I`ll have to get a man in for that job.

 

Ho ho! Somebody's been telling you porky pies, lollipop!! Once cut they require regular cutting to keep them in check. After the initial cut they will send up lots of leaders, which you'll have to cut again and again and again. Dagnabbit I hate conifers and I've had two big jobs doing them this week! :skp:

 

Curses!!!!

 

The best place for leylandi is left alone in a parkland or better still going into the mouth of a Timberwolf chipper!!!