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Mistake to just cut this leylandii down?

ManderMander Posts: 349
in Garden design
I'm at the beginning stages of revamping my badly neglected front garden (NW facing). I have this leylandii in the middle of one side and I've been thinking about getting out the saw and just cutting it down. I went out with the loppers to try and thin it down a bit but I have done that every year and now the "trunks" (right term?) are too thick to cut that way. 

Pros of this tree/shrub: well established, provides a bit of a screen from the street to the bins on the side of the house. 

Cons: it's huge for this area, the roots might be pulling too much moisture out of the soil and causing the front steps to shift, it makes me sneeze, and it makes it difficult to maintain anything else here. And I don't like it very much even though in the summer it didn't look that bad with all the other stuff flowering around it. 

Is it a bad idea to just cut it down as close to level with the ground as I can? Should I do it in stages? I vaguely recall reading once that removing a tree like this all at once could cause subsidence issues.

Or another suggestion? 

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Posts

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    Hi Mander. At this time of year its possible that birds may be nesting in it so watch it carefully and see if you can see any bird activity in and around it. If you are happy to wait until the end of the year then it would be possible to remove it.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    It's not leylandii
    Devon.
  • ManderMander Posts: 349
    Oh, isn't it? I thought I'd asked about that here once before. What is it really then? And does that change anything about cutting it down? 
  • ManderMander Posts: 349
    Oh and definitely no birds. It's only about 5 feet high and very spread out so it's easy to look in and check it. All of the branches grow straight up so there's not a lot of places to put a nest in any case. 
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I'd say it's one of the many forms of "Lawson's Cypress" . 
    If it were MY garden, I'd remove it entirely , roots and all.
    Devon.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    I think it is Lawson cypress too. You can saw it off six inches from the base. It won't grow back. If you have got the stamina, leave 18inches of trunk to help you get it out. I dug one out. I let the other six rot on their own.
  • ManderMander Posts: 349
    Hostafan1 said:
    If it were MY garden, I'd remove it entirely , roots and all.
    That is my inclination! Is there any reason not to just get out the saw and cut it down all at once? Do I need to do it in stages? 
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I'd do it as @fidgetbones suggests, clear the foliage and majority of the branches , dig a trench all the way round to sever the roots and just get stuck in digging / pickaxing it out. 
    You could tie a stout rope round it and try to pull it out ( after severing as much of the roots as you can ) attached to the towbar of a car if you wanted to be a bit more dramatic about it.
    Devon.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd agree with @Hostafan1, and with the advice from @fidgetbones re removal. 

    It's not doing you, or the garden,  any favours, and you can then spend some time 'perusing' other shrubs or plants for the space while we're all confined.
    When we get let loose again, you can get something you like better  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I'd remove the forsythia at the same time.
    Devon.
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