Leyllandai

[Nickynoodles]

Can anyone help - We moved to our farm last year and the perimeter has those dreaded trees round it - they are approx. 30ft high but only the tops are green and so do not really stop the gales!! - A couple of branches have come down in bad weather. My question is: If we cut them to about 10ft, will they sprout again or not???

[Catso]

Yes. They will 'bush out' a bit, but mainly they'll try to create another 'leader' from one of the side branches, and set off for the heights again.

You have to prune/cut them annually(-ish) to keep them in check.

[Nickynoodles]

Thank you so much - some silly woman told us that when they reach a certain height, they stop sprouting - I did not think this was true!!

[Catso]

Ahhhh. To expand a little, then.

Leylandii don't resprout fresh branches from their main stem, like - say - a rose bush does.

And, once a branch dies back, it will never regrow and if it's at the bottom of the tree, you won't be able to get a new one to grow to replace it. This is particularly noticeable at the bottom of leylandii hedges - if you let the grass/weeds smother the bottom branches, they'll die and you'll never be able to get the bottom to grow again, leaving a gap at the bottom.

[RATTER15]

If there is no green left on a branch, it will never grow green on it again, a point to remember if you cut all the green back on a leylandii or similar tree it will never grow back. so if the bottom of the tree is brown it will always be that way.

[Nickynoodles]

Oh dear - so not such good news then??? - can you uproot them or am I right in thinking they have a preservation order on them???

[scuzzball]

I'd be astonished if they have a preservation order on them. They are considerd a nuisance by most councils.

[RATTER15]

Unlikely to have a preservation order on them, if they do have one and the trees are dying they will allow you to take them down, a phone call to your local tree warden at the council will tell you if they have a preservation order on them but that is very unlikely.

You say uproot them, do you mean cut them down and remove the roots, yes if there is no preservation order on them.

[Nickynoodles]

Thanks - we have to do something or they will fall into the house this winter!!!