. . . 8 Leylandii Questions
Sam Parker
little on these topics. Some things in gardening are better learnt from experienced
gardeners and that's where I hope you can help - thanks.
First a bit of background info in case you think I want to torment my neighbours :
I know leylandii have been getting a bad press recently , especially today , but there
are some situations where they fit the bill perfectly . I live directly in front of the platform
of East Acton station which is raised about 10 metres above house. London Underground
, in its infinite wisdom ,decided to sink some deep concrete piles to secure the slope upon
which the platform stands atop. To do this it removed all the vegetation between us and
the platform. As a result we , and other neighbours have absolutely no privacy , especially
at night , unless we draw our curtains . Some people have resorted to growing leylandii but
the specimens seem to be stringy and not very dense. No one seems to know how to make
them "bushy" to serve as a good hedge screen. Please help !
Q0 : Why is it that some leylandii trees are wonderfully lush and dense while
others are really stringy and make poor hedges ? Are there particular varieties
that are more stringy or dense ?
Q1 : I've got a leylandii hedge and am considering cutting the top half off it
( drastic measures for drastic problems )
because it's 4.5 metres at the moment - has grown over a meter this year alone !
Will cutting into the established wood in this way kill the whole plant ?
Q2 : How deep beneath the ground do the roots go and how far out do they spread?
I am asking this because I want to lay a concrete foundation near to them and
don't want the roots undermining it.
Q3 : How long do they live for ?
I've tried looking for an answer to this in Brittanica, the huge Royal Horticultural
Encyclopaedia and elsewhere , but no luck.
Q4 : Is the fact that they get "stringy" and less dense a sign of impending death / old
age ? Am asking this 'cause that's what's happening to a hedge at the bottom of our
garden (it's around 30 years old ).
Q5 : Does anyone have contact information for the " Association of British Conifer
Growers". e.g. :tel. No. , www address , or postal address . Tried directory enquiries ,
search engines , etc. .
Q6 : Anyone know the addresses of nurseries specializing in growing leylandii or where
I can buy decent ( i.e. not pot-grown mangy specimens ) 9 foot + trees in London or the
Home Counties ?
Q8 : This question applies to all types of pot plant - : will a plant grow faster when placed in
100 % compost or a mix of soil and compost ? And is peat any good ? Is home-made compost
better than shop-compost ?
cheers , Sam
Kay Easton
<sam_p...@hotmail.com> writes
>
>Q3 : How long do they live for ?
>I've tried looking for an answer to this in Brittanica, the huge Royal
>Horticultural
>Encyclopaedia and elsewhere , but no luck.
that's maybe because no-one yet knows the answer! They're not a wild
tree, but a hybrid, which was created only a few years ago - IIRC, in
the 50s. It was in the 60s that they began to be propagated widely. So,
40 years later, we don't yet know how long they can live for or how high
they will be at maturity.
--
Kay Easton
Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/
Anthony Frost
sam_p...@hotmail.com (Sam Parker) wrote:
> Hello , sorry for asking so many q's
Well, I'm only answering a couple...
> Q0 : Why is it that some leylandii trees are wonderfully lush and
> dense while others are really stringy and make poor hedges ? Are there
> particular varieties that are more stringy or dense ?
I think this is down to regular cutting. Leylandii won't sprout from old
wood, but if they are trimmed often you will land up with lots of short
branches rather than the long trailing spikes.
>
> Q1 : I've got a leylandii hedge and am considering cutting the top
> half off it ( drastic measures for drastic problems ) because it's
> 4.5 metres at the moment - has grown over a meter this year alone !
> Will cutting into the established wood in this way kill the whole plant ?
Been there, done that. The top will look a bit scruffy and bare from
above (my bedroom window overlooks the ones I chopped) for a year or two
until the top fills in again. Cut it a foot or two shorter than you
finally want it as on mine the uppermost branches have tended to curve
up as they fill in.
Anthony
John Griffiths
>little on these topics. Some things in gardening are better learnt from experienced
>gardeners and that's where I hope you can help - thanks.
>
> . I live directly in front of the
>platform
>of East Acton station which is raised about 10 metres above house. London
>Underground
> , in its infinite wisdom ,decided to sink some deep concrete piles to secure the
>slope upon
>which the platform stands atop. To do this it removed all the vegetation between
>us and
>the platform. As a result we , and other neighbours have absolutely no privacy ,
>especially
>at night , unless we draw our curtains .
Sam
I don't know a lot about Leylandii except that to get a nice dense hedge
you must keep cutting them just before they get to the height you want.
Like all trees/bushes - the more you cut the bushier they get.
If I were you I would get the local Environmental Officer around from the
local council. There are all sorts of reasons why BR should not have been
able to just cut away all the vegetation even though they are on their own
land. Things like "wild life corridors/environtmentally friendly/neighbourly
friendliness" come to mind.
Try and press for BR to replant and put things back similar to their original
state. You can only try - it costs nothing. The main thing is do not
accept 'there's nothing we can do' from the council - there is. Like
everyone else they just want the easy way out.
John
--
John Griffiths
Baxenden, Lancs,
http://www.baxlancs.demon.co.uk
Anton
Kay Easton wrote in message ...
>>I've tried looking for an answer to this in Brittanica, the huge Royal
>>Horticultural
>>Encyclopaedia and elsewhere , but no luck.
>
>that's maybe because no-one yet knows the answer! They're not a wild
>tree, but a hybrid, which was created only a few years ago - IIRC, in
>the 50s. It was in the 60s that they began to be propagated widely. So,
>40 years later, we don't yet know how long they can live for or how high
>they will be at maturity.
I think you're right about when they began to be propagated widely, Kay, but
Mitchell & Coombes in the 'Garden Tree' say the two first occurences were in
Powys in 1888 & 1911. They say they grow <quote>at 1m/ yr for 20 years and
2m/ every 3yrs thereafter to, it must be assumed, around 40m</quote>
--
Anton
Kathleen
wrote:
Some people have resorted to growing leylandii but
>the specimens seem to be stringy and not very dense. No one seems to know how to make
>them "bushy" to serve as a good hedge screen.
Be patient. once they have reached rather less than the required
height cut the tops to stop them growing taller and they will then get
bushier.
>
>Q0 : Why is it that some leylandii trees are wonderfully lush and dense
...probably because they have been cut regularly twice a year...
>others are really stringy and make poor hedges ? ..
...probably because they have not been cut regularly!
>Will cutting into the established wood in this way kill the whole plant ?
unlikely, unless you do it in the middle of a heat wave.
>
>Q2 : How deep beneath the ground do the roots go and how far out do they spread?
> I am asking this because I want to lay a concrete foundation near to them and
>don't want the roots undermining it.
I don't know the answer to your question , but we have a hedge which
was planted two years before we laid the concrete base for a patio
next to it. that was about twenty years ago and there is no sign of
the roots doing any damage.
>
>
>Q4 : Is the fact that they get "stringy" and less dense a sign of impending death / old
> age ? Am asking this 'cause that's what's happening to a hedge at the bottom of our
>garden (it's around 30 years old ).
Sounds as if it wasn't cut regularly twice every year
>
I can't help with the other questions
Kathleen