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Whats happened to my LEYLANDII'S and why?

lukman2kxq3Jm5Tclukman2kxq3Jm5Tc Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Hi guys, 

I planted some Leylandiis a year ago, 1 metre from centres, but some of them have turned brown, are these now dead? If so, what do you think may have caused this to happen?

They were planted with fert, were OK untill a month or so ago.

Any ideas what I can do to rescue them.

South facing spot and watering them regularly.

thanks

Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited June 2021
    I would suggest they need three times more water than you think they do. The intense heat won't have helped new trees trying to establish.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I agree with Fire, how much water per plant were you giving them weekly? I would be giving them two buckets of water each, twice a week, at the least. A good deep water is essential, never just sprinkle them with the hose, it’s never enough and never reaches the roots.

    If they have been watered regularly and deeply, well, some plants are just weaker than others and succumb more quickly when under stress (and it usually is lack of water stress), or perhaps the soil is just drier at the dead end. Some of the green ones are also looking a bit stressed, so with prompt action now, you can save those ones.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • lukman2kxq3Jm5Tclukman2kxq3Jm5Tc Posts: 3
    edited June 2021
    Thanks for the input, really appreciated.  Makes me wonder if the ground they're in (which is hard clay), isnt allowing the roots to spread?

    Watering regime - it gets a hose each evening in hot days, which we have seen plenty lately. Any good way to confirm if its the lack of watering or perhaps could it even be over-watering that might be the cause?

    The complete brown ones are beyond rescue then?
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    They won't regrow when they have gone brown like that.  The green ones need topping by about 3ft to make them thicken out. How high do you plan on growing them?

  • lukman2kxq3Jm5Tclukman2kxq3Jm5Tc Posts: 3
    edited June 2021
    As I thought, I'll have the complete brown ones taken out.

    Pardon my ignorance, when you say topping by 3ft, do you mean, chopping the tops off by 3ft so they grow sideways? which is the plan.

    Ideally want an approx 3.5m screen, so we are not overlooked by those new builds infront.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    If you bring it down now to the height of the fence, it will form a lot more shoots that then go up , instead of just the one leader. It will be a lot thicker that way.  Keeping it to 3.5m will need scaffolding to cut it twice a year to keep it there. Lleylandii has such a bad reputation because it grows fast to give a screen , but keeping it under control and stopping it getting to 30m is hard work.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I don’t think it’s your soil, my inherited hedge grows in unimproved, rock hard clay soil. Again, I think it’s your watering technique. By watering with a hose daily when hot, the water is not penetrating down to the subsurface roots properly, encouraging the finer roots to seek the water at the surface, where they are more vulnerable to drying out so they are slowly dying of thirst. Young trees take a couple of years to get their roots established and need far more water than you can imagine during that vulnerable stage. Hence you need to take action now, i.e change your watering schedule and technique to a really deep soaking twice a week regardless of the weather, to save those still green.

    I agree with fidget re topping to get a decent, think hedge. Mine were not topped regularly and I inherited an overgrown, straggling hedge over 7m tall that was brown in the middle. They are now topped much lower, but it will never be a good hedge due to earlier inaction. 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    It's a high maintenance tree you have choosen.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    You are also not allowed to have a leylandii hedge higher than 2.5 metres so your neighbours could complain to the council if it gets higher. Sorry for the bad news.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    This is an opportunity to choose something better. There are many trees that you and your neighbours could enjoy. And plant them further from your fence.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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