cutting down conifers

hello everyone, I am not a gardener but need to get rid of some rather hideous looking conifers which are probably about 6-7 or slightly more years old (I guess). I have been told that the best thing to do rather than cut them down and dig out the roots, is to cut them down to floor level and then poisen the roots. Can anyone tell me if this is the correct thing to do or are we better off trying to dig the roots out properly? We want to lay a path where the conifers are at the moment, so will poisening the roots be enough??? many thanks

 

Any poison you use on the roots will go into the soil and do more damage to anything else you may want to grow. If you cut them right back to ground level, that should suffice. If they sprout again, just remove the new shoots. No plant can live if it cannot put out green leaves.

The chemical companies never tell you that because they want to grow rich at your expense.

 

thanks for this advice, I will get my husband to work on chopping them down straight away, thanks again

 

pull them out with a tractor if you have room, I never regret getting rid of our hidious things!

 

If they are only six or seven years old, and you dont have the tractor that Waco suggests, then cut them off at about five feet high, and dig around the roots, cutting off the main anchor roots as deep as you can. The five foot stump gives you some leverage to work out the root.
If you just poison them or cut them off won't the stumps be in the way of your new path?

 

I'd cut them to bleow ground level - BUT - first check if they're yews - they're the only conifers that will re-grow. Have a look here if you're not sure....
http://images.google.co.uk/images?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial_s&q=taxus+baccata&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

 

Chainsaw, dynamite, tractor, get the Jolly Green Giant to stomp on 'em or dig the bruhargars out the hard. Anyway you can - just get rid of the evil eyesores.

By the way, I don't like leylandii very much :D