Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

New member, conifer advice with photo's.

Paul060Paul060 Posts: 33
in Problem solving
Hi, firstly hello to everyone, hope you are all well.

Here are some photo's of my garden and as you can see the bottom has a row of conifers which provide some nice privacy and create an end to the garden.

 

However, if you look round the back, this is what you see.



On the left hand side because there are trees behind the conifers/ Leylandii they only grow one way, towards the light. They have also not been looked after, maybe every 5 years the top has been severely cut off.
What do you think, they are 4 meters tall and not easily replaced. Is there a way to make the best of it, I don't really like them, but like the privacy they provide. Thanks.
«1

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    If you could manage with less lawn, you could make an island bed maybe two thirds of the way down the garden and plant more interesting things that would draw the eye away from the conifers. Don't try to plant anything in the root zone of the conifers, they will be sucking out all the moisture and goodness.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Paul060Paul060 Posts: 33
    edited June 2021
    Thanks Jenny, good point about the soil. It is very dusty under the conifers and I have read that maybe adding fertilizer might be a good idea.
    Thanks Paul.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I think adding fertiliser to the conifers will just make them grow faster and need cutting more often.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Paul060Paul060 Posts: 33
    Good point.
    I have thought about replacing them with Laurels, and saw this hedge recently nearby. The downside is to get to 4 meters would take quite a few years, but it does look good.


  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Have a look here ... Laurel doesn’t take as long as you’d think https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/656523/help-needed-please-with-laurel-hedge-issues/p1

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





  • Paul060Paul060 Posts: 33
    We have decided to keep them, let them grow a few years and tidy them up on top. Also we have planted three new ones at the back to fill in some spaces.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Is the back view yours or the neighbours'?

    On the first photo the hedge on your side looks fine but the other side shows that someone has cut back hard into the hedge and it is a fact that most conifers do not regenerate from brown wood  and you need to leave some green foliage from which new growth will come. 

    If that is not the boundary with your neighbours you can choose to leave it denuded or disguise it with climbers, fence, trellis......

    If it is on the neighbours' side  they can do the same.  


    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    The brown areas won't grow back.
  • Paul060Paul060 Posts: 33
    The back view is a bit of waste ground next to a neighbor.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Who owns the waste ground?  If it's yours, use it for compost heaps and the like.  If it's not, just ignore it and concentrate on your side of the conifer hedge.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
Sign In or Register to comment.