Evergreen Trees

Ah Pete ...
Surely the State has been deciding what we can and can't do for many hundreds of years
It is just that they seem to be cutting 'closer to the bone' these days

 

I have 24 leylandii as a 10ft hedge I planted 22 yrs ago because the main shoot is cut off they have never grown any taller, yes you get wispy shoots but they don't grow up to make the tree taller. You have to becarefull when trimming the hedge not to go into old wood, next door did with theirs and they ended up dead. I'm in the middle of doing my RHS at college and everything to do with everything in the garden we have to learn, including soil science and even bioligy!

 

Yes I know they can stop you from growing hedges above a certain height, its just that I would have thought this could apply to say laurel or any other evergreen hedge that is allowed to grow above a reasonable height.
Why all the leylandii, hatred, its a good tree, and as TO says if the gardener concerned keeps it under control its no worse than any other hedge.
There is no such thing as a bad hedge, just bad hedge growers. :D

 

Thanks Marley, its all a bit vague, a was obviously thought up by a non gardener, as I said somewhere else, I would much rather live with a ten foot well cared for leylandii hedge than a sixty foot oak tree.
Maybe leylandii have no place in an urban garden but neither do forest trees.
No 8 seems to be the big cop out, and makes the rest of it all pointless.

 

But cloud cuckoo land is where most of the law makers seem to reside :D

 

Difference is the big oak tree would have been there when you moved in so it would be your own fault for choosing to live there. Leylandii grow so fast they can be planted and then start towering over neighbouring properties. Why do they build houses near big trees? Just down to greedy builders trying to cram the houses in and having no consideration for the people who move in or who have to pay for work on the tree because the building work damaged the tree's roots.
Why does somebody think we should cut our hedges twice a year? Unfortunately I have 300 foot of leylandii and it manages very well with a cut once a year in late summer . If I cut in twice I would have to cut in early summer and i never cut hedges at that time of year cause of nesting birds. I always have several nests in the hedges and I will not cut while they have egggs or chicks.

 

hehehe
If they lived in 'Cloud Cuckoo Land' they would only be annoying the cuckoos. Unfortunately they live amongst us
I too have a leylandii hedge which is only cut once a year at this time. It does very well
If you have such a hedge you must keep it to your chosen size from the very beginning. Allow it to outgrow and all you will get is the dead brown of the original post

 

One real point in favour of leylandii.


Its good for nesting birds.
Also there is always a dry spot for animals to rest up in, during the day, summer or winter. :D

 

I don`t see how a line of two evergreen or semi evergreen trees or shrubs constitute a hedge. David.

 

I saw a leylandii hedge the other side of our town. It was in the narrow bit between the drives of neighbouring houses. It had reached about 8 feet in height and on one side they had decided to reduce its width cause it was encroaching on the drive. They were left with this 8 foot high wall of dead brown stuff. I wondered how long it would take them to realise that that was permanent.

 

I think there a loads of trees planted in inappropriate places, and quite often by the so called professionals, local councils, (no offence strongy) :D . Around here they are removing plane trees that are only about twenty yrs old, because they have grown too big.
No doubt they will be replaced by some wimpish little standard tree that will never attain a size large enough to be vandal proof.
My only gripe is, why all the leylandii bashing, it does the same job as many other trees, but just a little bit faster.
Surely that was what it was bred for.