To Fell Or Not To Fell
Ginny Barker
Posts: 25
I would be really grateful if anyone could give me some tips or advice on making the choice between managing conifers (which I hate) or getting rid of them completely.
I have a line of them at the bottom of my garden, all about 25ft high and the obviously provide great screening and privacy. But I hate the look of them and they throw the bottom third of the garden into constsnt shade. I was contemplating getting someone in to give them a severe haircut so more sunlight is let in next year. But am now toying with the idea of getting them dug out instead. I am concerned about the cost implications for that & also how easy it would be to grow new shrubs/plants straight away as no idea how far their roots go down. Any tips, anecdotes or advice very much appreciated.
Posts
I moved to a house that had a row of seven conifers against the rear fence, my first thought was, they have to go, they were so sombre and cast such deep shade. The tops were level with the telegraph wires. When you cut the crown off a conifer, the tree dies. It won't sprout new shoots from the stump as some deciduous trees do. I think I paid the tree man about £750, it was two days work as there were some other trees and shrubs I wanted gone. I had him cut my row of conifers level with the top of the fence (6ft) and being an ivy fan, I planted a different variety of ivy against each trunk. The tree man cut some of the wood in logs for use in my wood burning stove, and the smaller branches were shredded on site to use for mulch. The tree roots are still in the ground but it's no bother planting round them.
Oh Dear, a lot of misconceptions there. Conifers do not usually die if their crowns are cut off. They look ugly, yes, but they shouldn't die. Conifer wood is not good in a wood-burner, but you've probably found that out already. Before even thinking of burning it you have to dry it out for ages and ages or it deposits too much resin in the chimney. Bad News.
But yes, I do agree they are the most depressing trees as they hardly change with the seasons as deciduous trees do.
Hahaha. If you hate them, get rid of them. I only have one conifer in my garden, an ancient hemlock which I spare because of its longevity and because it provides a certain amount of shade for my cuttings. The rest are on my neighbour's plot and I can't touch them, though I would dearly love to.
If you want to execute them humanely it's often not practical to dig out the roots, so cut them down as near as you can to the ground, then make a "sign of the cross" cut in the stump. Pour undiluted glyophosate or similar onto this and pray... Good luck. Ian
Last edited: 25 October 2017 00:48:35
I should have added... I was feeling in a good mood and didn't want to depress you, but your worst problems could be still to come. After they are cut down conifers blight the ground they have been growing in and it is difficult to find anything that will grow there. Try small-flowered clematis. They will quickly cover the stump and seem to do better than most. Even more good luck. Ian
" After they are cut down conifers blight the ground they have been growing in and it is difficult to find anything that will grow there."
What total tosh. Provide evidence to support this claim.
They certainly do not do any harm to the ground.
I had a 100 ft row of 28 and they were about 28 years old but were kept at 7’ tall.
We sawed them off about a foot from the base, then with a mattock, pickaxe and heavy duty loppers we set too to get them out. This was wintertime. We just did it bit by bit and by Spring had got the lot out.
We then put plenty of chicken pellets in the ground, and in that Spring I planted it up with cuttings and seeds I had grown, I bought Pack of 12 bare root shrubs for £20.. from Amazon and put those at the back.
Heres the before and after pic, it can be done, bit of hard work, and I must admit, you do need a man, ??.
After my row of conifers were cut down I planted ivy to grow up the stumps, and in between them I planted summer and winter jasmines, forsythia and mahonia, all of which survived. They're not exactly racing away, but that's probably because I've done nothing to improve the soil. So don't be deterred by the prophets of doom.
That's great thank you and your choice of replacements sound really good. I would love to get rid of the conifers which are just an eyesore to me. Many thanks for your message
When we moved here the garden had a god awful conifer that was taller than our house and the houses around us. one of the first things I did in the garden was get it cut down. Left the stump in but coated with stump killer so it has not grown back. For the first years after we cut it down I just liberally spread wild mixed plant seeds, covered over to stop the birds eating them and uncovered when growth appeared. That years I had a lovely bed full poppy, cornflowers, cosmos and calendula.
gave me time to plan what I wanted to do long term with the bed and looked a lot nicer than a lump of green conifer. I don't think conifers or any tree that has the protential to grow to the sort of size most of them do has any place in a residential garden. You may like it but most will have some impact on your neibours garden whether it be blocking light and casting shade to sucking all the nutrients out of the surrounding soil. If you have a huge garden then yes but most of us don't.
so in short get rid of them as there are plenty of ways to ensure privacy without them.