Leylandii trees......

[ELVIS68]

Are there any laws about cutting them?

I want to cut mine down to about 6ft from 30ft, they are in my back garden, am I free to go ahead and chop away?

[askyourgran]

Oh I HATE those bl**dy things ELVIS, my back garden backs on to a bungalow, the owner has planted Lleylandii all along his property, they are now easily 30ft high. I can't touch them, only any overhanging branches and lleylandii don't particularly overhang. I don't get the sun now until mid-afternoon. I wish I knew what I can do about them.

[knockavacca]

hi i dont know if this helps,anyway my back garden had them all around the back, and i just had them all removed compleatly, and replaced them with a 6 foot concreat fence,and i did not need planning permission to do it,i did ask first hope this helps

[jomifl]

As long as they are your trees and there are no preservation orders on them then chop away. If you want them to regrow do NOT cut them below branches bearing green leaves as they will die if you do this.

[tamborine]

cut em down, they're not protected.

here ayg - annoy your neighbors as much as they have you.

http://news.bbc.co.uk..._politics/4596685.stm

[237SJ]

AYG - there is a woman round the corner from here who has massive leylandii trees in her garden. They don`t really affect me but the neighbours at the end complained (probably to the council) and she was told she had to cut them down. The trouble is, she says she can`t afford it and there is no law to force her. The neighbours were told that they would have to pay it if they wanted it done. It might be worth complaining though. I`ve got them next to me and I mentioned them to the landlord a while ago. They`re turning my lawn into moss and blocking the sun. He`s sending someone round at 8am tomorrow to cut them to however I want. What a nice, obliging chap.

[ubasses]

We had ours cut down, but were advised to do it about 6 foot at a time to prevent them going brown and unsightly

[askyourgran]

Thanks for the link tambo, I've held off complaining to the council for the reason I have to pay them to investigate. I've spoken to the neighbour who said he'd 'get someone' to look at them, that was last year.

[The-HouseHusband]

If the trees are on your land you can do as you please with them. Lopping them off to a reasonable height is not easy though unless you have access to free standing ladders or a cherry picker (hydraulic lift).

If you decide to trim the trees in width as well as height do not cut back too far, if you cut back to the Brown then you will have dead trees as they wont grow back any more

[sunny-dave]

Nuke the damn things and plant a couple of ornamental native trees - flowering cherry, paper bark birch, rowan ...

[ELVIS68]

Thanks for your replies, chainsaw Tuesday coming up!

AYG, opposite me there are leylandii trees about 60ft high, the owner was quoted £4k to have them chopped

[craft1948]

There's nothing wrong with leylandii it's the people who plant them..............I have planted leylandii all around my back garden and keep them trimmed at 5'.

[The-HouseHusband]

I agree with you Craft. I have them along the back border of my property, they are a great barrier to the council maisonettes that back on to our garden. Because we live on a hill and they are higher up than we are I keep them trimmed at around 10 foot which stops them overlooking us from the balconies.

Lots of lovely green on my side and after a complaint from some tenants the council came round and said they were fine, I just needed to keep an eye on any branches going over the boundary. To save any more problems I trimmed the far side right back so they have a lovely view of bare trunks and the brown firs that have knitted together from bush to bush.

[starone]

I have some nearby but they do not directly affect me. They are about 60 ft high I reckon, maybe even more. You cannot call that decorative, they are designed to hide from the neighbours. If they did directly affect me and I could not resolve the problem with the owners I think I would see if Icould find some root formation in my own garden and pour a couple of gallons of heavy quality weed killer down among it. Sorry, but desperate problems need desperate solutions.

[Jemisa]

As long as they are yours you can do what you dam well please;

jem

[rowanwitch]

you will probably be very popular... but as suggested do it in stages maybe over a couple of growing seasons... personally I'd have them removed altogether and have them replacesd with something wildlife friendly like hawthorn, holly and viburnum with a couple of rowan trees for height and interest

[ladybirder]

Hmm and what about when they don't belong to you? The house opposite me is on a massive plot and the owner has got what look like Leylandii running alongside the boundary wall. They are massive; in fact they tower above our flats and block out the sky. They are twice as tall as his house. Is there no limit to how high he can continue to let these things grow? The owners family don't seem to mind as they are at the side of the building and therefore don't block their light.

[maggiebee]

Am I a lone voice in the wilderness? I actually like my Leylandii hedge at the bottom of my garden. Screens me from a busy main road. Having said that I've never let it grow above 6.5 ft and it doesn't border another garden. Got at least 3 blackbirds nesting in it as it is clipped really close.

[tamborine]

Leyandii are highly inflammible, more so in summer as they exude resin. A 'wind blown' spark would devastate the tree :)