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Laylandii(?) trimmed back too far

kriz_lairdf5BNKUwHkriz_lairdf5BNKUwH Posts: 2
in Problem solving
Hi. I need some help.

We have, what I believe are, Laylandii at the rear of our garden. Various people have trimmed them back too far and there is no hope of bringing them back to green. We also removed a summerhouse which blocked majority of the light to the middle ones.

How can I fix this unsightly mess?

I had thought about planting more in between but there isn't much room or perhaps growing something else in between instead to hide it?

 

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    silk purses and sows' ears spring to mind. 
    I'd remove them and start again. 
    Devon.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I'm afraid I would bite the bullet and have them out ... they're hideous and will always be so, no matter how much money you spend trying to improve them.  I would then put in a new 6' fence, topped with 1' trellis panels and grow climbers up it.  

    I would also increase your privacy in the garden, (as I presume that's the main issue around removing the trees) by the judicious placing of a couple of small deciduous trees (eg crab apple, amelanchier, rowan) within the garden, and a pergola to give you a secluded 'sitting out' area.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    I agree with @Hostafan1 and they're not as difficult to remove as you may imagine.  Given all the other work you have done, it would make a massive positive difference to your garden and not just visually - those tree roots are sucking all the moisture and nutrients out of the surrounding soil and will work their way up into your new raised beds at that end.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • kriz_lairdf5BNKUwHkriz_lairdf5BNKUwH Posts: 2
    If I were to remove them to replant fresh ones would I need to remove the stumps entirely?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    It's easier to remove the roots if you leave a portion of the trunk and use it as a lever ... rock them back and forth to loosen them and they soon lose any grip they had ... they're surface rooters and don't have a deep tap root ... that's one of the reasons why they suck all the moisture out of the soil ... all those roots close to the surface.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    “remove them to replant fresh ones ”

    Isn’t that like sitting down for dinner at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons and saying “toast, please”?
    Rutland, England
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    Agree with all the above but if you still want a conifer choose one that is naturally shaped  and will take hard pruning. 

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I can see that they are shielding the view from the windows that look right down into your garden. I imagine that is why they were planted and at that height.
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