The stumps would rot and they wouldn't re-shoot ... but that would take a while and until they'd rotted down there wouldn't be any free soil to plant anything else there.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Lyn (a regular on here) has removed hers by removing the foliage and using the trunks as a lever to wriggle and rock them back and forth and they eventually work free ... they're not deep rooted trees. I'd give the soil a good soaking first
Oh, and Lyn's quite slightly built and I don't think she;d mind me saying she's not in the first flush of youth ... although she probably got her OH to help her
Have you got anyone you can bribe with cake ... that's how a lot of us '27 year olds' get things shifted ...
You'll discover that we're all 27 on here (even my daughter Wonky Womble who is a grown up married lady) ... we got that far and stopped and we ain't budging
Hahahahaha - I'm going to ask around Dovefromabove, cake, bacon butties and plenty of mugs of tea for anyone who wants to come to sunny Southport to help me?!? xx
Awww ... used to have an auntie and cousins in Southport ... now she's gone and the cousins have moved elsewhere otherwise I might have loaned you a muscular rugby playing second cousin!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Lyn (a regular on here) has removed hers by removing the foliage and using the trunks as a lever to wriggle and rock them back and forth and they eventually work free ... they're not deep rooted trees. I'd give the soil a good soaking first
Oh, and Lyn's quite slightly built and I don't think she;d mind me saying she's not in the first flush of youth ... although she probably got her OH to help her
Have you got anyone you can bribe with cake ... that's how a lot of us '27 year olds' get things shifted ...
You'll discover that we're all 27 on here (even my daughter Wonky Womble who is a grown up married lady) ... we got that far and stopped and we ain't budging
Hahahahaha - I'm going to ask around Dovefromabove, cake, bacon butties and plenty of mugs of tea for anyone who wants to come to sunny Southport to help me?!? xx
Awww ... used to have an auntie and cousins in Southport ... now she's gone and the cousins have moved elsewhere otherwise I might have loaned you a muscular rugby playing second cousin!
It's a pleasure ... let us know what you decide to do and how you get on ... we love before and after pics ... and you can always pop in and say Hello on the chat threads in the Potting Shed
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I am interested as to why the tree has died back on the road side, I wonder if it is salt spray or if it was cut back too much?
If if it is Leylandii, I am sure it will put on enough growth in a year or so to disguise the current brown patches? I have seen them grow enough to mask such areas.
Possibly someone (the council?) has cut them hard back with a hedge trimmer. If you cut into the 'brown' it never grows back green. They just keep going up with a dead patch at the bottom.
I would get them out, if you can. If you really can't, a very large pot standing nearby with a clematis or other climber might give you a better out look for a while, until you can get the leylandii removed. If you get the sort of clematis that needs to be cut back hard each year then when you do get your trees out and a nice trellis up, you'll have at least one climber already there, to get into the ground once it's free of leylandii roots
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Re rotting tree stumps, I had some much bigger conifers in my garden that I took down. The stumps were up to 18". I've taken them right down and built a raised bed on top. Three years later and they're soft, but very much still present.
You can accelerate the process by building a compost bin on top (the heat helps) but I guess there isn't room to do that.
I think it would be best to take them down though: I really like the idea of a trellis with climbers. If you know someone with a climber, you should be able to take cuttings easily to keep the costs down. It'll take a few years for them to establish though.
The conifers don't look that big so should be fairly easy to dig out. But there isn't a lot of wiggle room. Think I would also be investing in a bag of cement mix just in case the wall comes a cropper in places. Easy enough though to build back up, even for a novice.
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
A few years ago I tackled a similar problem for a customer who wanted privacy from a road , but wanted something to scramble and intertwine with some rather spindly Leylandii .
I had a brainwave (doesn't happen often) , and planted several variegated ivies (Hedera helix 'Goldheart') to grow into the conifers . These were obviously allowed to grow 'into' the hedge purposely ; the conifers were kept at bay by regular light trimming .
Now she's the proud owner of a 25' long stunningly variegated hedge . They're just the supports now , 90% of the conifer foliage has gone ; smothered by the ivy ! Took about 4-5 years to attain this .
Colourful throughout the year , hardly needs trimming anymore , (every second year) , good for wildlife and a real eye-catcher .
Certainly an improvement on the hideous Leylandii , the scourge of many a garden and a source of bitter regret for many a gardener .
A different approach maybe to the above answers , and possibly worth considering ?
I am interested as to why the tree has died back on the road side, I wonder if it is salt spray or if it was cut back too much?
If if it is Leylandii, I am sure it will put on enough growth in a year or so to disguise the current brown patches? I have seen them grow enough to mask such areas.
Aww thanks everyone for taking the time out to reply and advise me, much appreciated. What a nice bunch of people you are - Off to work now but have a good y'all xx
Posts
The stumps would rot and they wouldn't re-shoot ... but that would take a while and until they'd rotted down there wouldn't be any free soil to plant anything else there.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Awww ... used to have an auntie and cousins in Southport ... now she's gone and the cousins have moved elsewhere otherwise I might have loaned you a muscular rugby playing second cousin!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Doh!! just my luck
thanks for all your help and advice xx
It's a pleasure ... let us know what you decide to do and how you get on ... we love before and after pics ... and you can always pop in and say Hello on the chat threads in the Potting Shed
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Possibly someone (the council?) has cut them hard back with a hedge trimmer. If you cut into the 'brown' it never grows back green. They just keep going up with a dead patch at the bottom.
I would get them out, if you can. If you really can't, a very large pot standing nearby with a clematis or other climber might give you a better out look for a while, until you can get the leylandii removed. If you get the sort of clematis that needs to be cut back hard each year then when you do get your trees out and a nice trellis up, you'll have at least one climber already there, to get into the ground once it's free of leylandii roots
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Re rotting tree stumps, I had some much bigger conifers in my garden that I took down. The stumps were up to 18". I've taken them right down and built a raised bed on top. Three years later and they're soft, but very much still present.
You can accelerate the process by building a compost bin on top (the heat helps) but I guess there isn't room to do that.
I think it would be best to take them down though: I really like the idea of a trellis with climbers. If you know someone with a climber, you should be able to take cuttings easily to keep the costs down. It'll take a few years for them to establish though.
The conifers don't look that big so should be fairly easy to dig out. But there isn't a lot of wiggle room. Think I would also be investing in a bag of cement mix just in case the wall comes a cropper in places. Easy enough though to build back up, even for a novice.
A few years ago I tackled a similar problem for a customer who wanted privacy from a road , but wanted something to scramble and intertwine with some rather spindly Leylandii .
I had a brainwave (doesn't happen often
) , and planted several variegated ivies (Hedera helix 'Goldheart') to grow into the conifers . These were obviously allowed to grow 'into' the hedge purposely ; the conifers were kept at bay by regular light trimming .
Now she's the proud owner of a 25' long stunningly variegated hedge . They're just the supports now , 90% of the conifer foliage has gone ; smothered by the ivy ! Took about 4-5 years to attain this .
Colourful throughout the year , hardly needs trimming anymore , (every second year) , good for wildlife and a real eye-catcher .
Certainly an improvement on the hideous Leylandii , the scourge of many a garden and a source of bitter regret for many a gardener .
A different approach maybe to the above answers , and possibly worth considering ?
Maybe save yourself some hard work too !
Hi apparently its because I live on a busy main road?! x
Aww thanks everyone for taking the time out to reply and advise me, much appreciated. What a nice bunch of people you are - Off to work now but have a good y'all xx