Leylandii hedging conifer

Hi all

i am a total novice! i currently have a horid wooden fence backing on to a small stream (more like an overflow for the small stream.

I am thinking of chopping down the fence and planting some of these conifers. how do they cope with VERY wet soil?

 

I highly recommend that you don't plant leylandii use something else at all costs:hehe:

 

You will come to regret it if you plant Leylandii!

 

I'll add to the theme so far by saying that Leylandii would be a terrible choice.

If it is very wet, you have the perfect conditions for a living Willow fence (as long as it is not too close to any foundations to undermine). When winter comes you can buy what are effectively just sticks of hybrid Willow specially cultivated for fast growth of flexible rods. You simply push these into the ground where you want them, kind of weaving them together. A high percentage will take root and you get a good living barrier. Over the years you can simply replace any failed sticks with cuttings from the successful ones.

For an illustration of what I mean, I found this website: http://www.willowworks.co.uk/ (to which I am in no way connected). Look at the second picture down on the right hand side.

 

clueless ...... that is SOOOOOOOOOOOO much better than awful Leylandi :gnthb:

 

Its cool isn't it. People do all sorts with it. My dad went on a Willow weaving course and he said they made living benches, arbors and all sorts. I also so an bit on telly where they used Willow to reinforce a rapidly eroding river bank. I used that technique on my land, which has a stream running through it, to save the bank side washing away. Last time I looked the Willow had greened up nicely. For the eco-warriors among us it is worth noting that scientists have taken a keen interest in Willow for a number of reasons. It supports a wide variety of wildlife, shows great potential as a the raw material for biofuel, and has been shown to be very effective at mopping up all sorts of toxins including hydrocarbons and even many of the nasties associated with raw sewage. Coupled with reeds and comfrey, the trio mop up just about every common nasty there is apparently.

 

I'm no Leylandii fan, but just to counter the views that its an awful plant! a nicely clipped Leylandii hedge will look very smart.

The problem is that it grows up to 3 feet a year, so maintaining it as a "nicely clipped hedge" can be a burden, and it does not regrow if cut back to old wood - so if it is not cut for a while, for whatever reason, it cannot be tamed by cutting hard back. With the best intentions in the world that may happen - illness, new owners of the hedge, etc.

Leylandii also has a voracious appetite, and nothing will grow near it :(

I don't know if Leylandii will cope with wet ground

 

Leylandii can also sulk and then die, so you end up with one dead bit in the middle of a hedge which looks awful. There's also the friendly little aphid that is destroying leylandii up and down the country!

 

While I am not suggesting that you use leylandii - unless you are very overlooked why would you - I will refute that nothing will grow around them. I do have leylandii and grow many beautiful and interesting plants at their base. Bamboos, photinias, holly, flowering plum, sweet bay, birches and much else - they all thrive despite (or perhaps because) of the leylandii which give them protection from the cold winds we get across our garden.

 

I also have Lleylandii at the back of a border with trees and shrubs. It is casually trimmed to look a little more natural. It is extremely useful for screening and for shelter. I planted it to shelter my garden from Northerly winds and to hide a very broken down hawthorn hedge behind. I couldn't replant the hedge as there are cattle in that field. Have you ever seen a bullock jump? They are better than horses:hehe:
Lleylandii has it's uses and properly cared for it can look fine. The problem arises when people with small suburban gardens plant it. It doesn't make a small hedge so you need to be prepared to use a ladder to cut it and keep it. The one thing in it's favour is it is fast growing. If it is not for shelter and you are not in a hurry I would plant something else. I certainly wouldn't want to look out of my widow at it.

 

Nothing else will grow..... perfect!!

At the moment I am having this exact problem. The land is owned by national rail and I intend on cutting the wooden fence down and replacing it with a nature fence of bush. On the other side of the fence it is quite literally wild. I mean it grows under the fence and if I plant anything at all it dies in no time. I went behind the fence and cut the wildness back and stuff on my side started to grow until the other side came back a few weeks later. It is like wild climbers.

There is a plant with a thick stem, about 3 inch diameter, when you cut it it is hollow and full of water. Any ideas? Cos they are coming through my bleedin lawn in places by the fence. I want something that will take a lot of the water out of the ground but I can control and keep pretty, that way it will balance out whats going on on the other side!

As for the willow stuff it is not dense enough, I need it to be quite thick. I have a train track on the other side and would like something to absorb some sound, also dense enough to keep out any unwelcome guests.

 

Steve there is a golden version which is more attractive than the usual bog standard green.

 

From experience, I know that stuff will grow at the foot of Leylandii. Bindweed does particularly well

I also know from experience that unfortunately Leylandii doesn't mask much noise.

I'm not sure that Leylandii would thrive in soggy wet conditions. Some conifers will suffer badly in those conditions, but I'm not sure about Leylandii specifically.

Leylandii is not a monster, but it can be if not looked after.

If there is the potential problem of intruders, perhaps a good old fashioned mixed hedge of 3 parts Hawthorn to 1 part other stuff (wild roses, holly etc) may be worth considering.

 

can you provide more info please? i am pink fingers sadly, not green!

Can anyone identify this wildlife?




Note the thick stems full of water? these are the ones i am talking about they grow at unbelieveable speeds and take over everything very ugly.

 

Its hard to judge the height of the flower in the first pic, but it looks like Rosebay Willowherb. It is very common on waste ground, railway embankments and the likes. It is easy to control, as it is only an annual and is not deep rooted, but it seeds prolifically.