Well done. The tree looks great. So a not-silly question was worth asking after all. I would suggest not trimming the top for too long unless you particularly want a taller tree. Maybe this coming Spring reduce the height by as much as possible, which will give it a chance to thicken up before maturing. It will enable you to control the height and shape in the future instead of worrying about a bald or flat top.
P.S. Sorry, I left out an important word. I would suggest "not" leaving the trimming of the top for too long etc.
Thanks Joyce, I did cut some off the top. To be honest there wasn't a huge amount of green growth so limited in what could be chopped in general. Given the diameter of the tree, the green growth is probably only 10% of the radius, from outside inwards. This might be normal for these trees and despite what they say about them I don't think this one has grown massively this year so I'm not too worried it's going to take over.
Do not be lulled into a false sense of security! The other possibility is your tree is not a leylandii although it does look like one from your picture. It may not be very old so has not got going yet. With time and lack of trimming, they can spread outwards as well as upwards to make big trees. This is why they have become such a nightmare in some gardens and councils have stopped using them as boundary trees in new developments.
Just keep trimming off the new growth as you've done - once annually should be enough. That will prevent it getting out of hand. You've done a good job. Autumn is ideal because the growth has finished for the season, and it will basically be dormant, so you won't really get any more until the following year. People tend to hate conifers for all sorts of reasons, and often feel they have no benefit to wildlife in any way, but managed correctly, they do. The birds use mine all the time as the safe place to hide before and after using the feeders. It's a vital part of my garden. They're common as muck here as the climate suits them so well. The biggest drawback in many gardens is that they're shallow rooting, cast a lot of shade, and soak up moisture, which often makes growing other plants around them difficult. Not a problem here. In drier parts of the country, there are probably better choices if people want trees or hedging.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I also quite like a well-trimmed leylandii hedge @Fairygirl. We inherited a rather tall (and deep) one when we moved to our current abode and it's teeming with wildlife.
After a professional trim the first year we were here we've managed to keep it neat ourselves with an extendable hedge trimmer and a big ladder.
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So a not-silly question was worth asking after all.
I would suggest not trimming the top for too long unless you particularly want a taller tree. Maybe this coming Spring reduce the height by as much as possible, which will give it a chance to thicken up before maturing. It will enable you to control the height and shape in the future instead of worrying about a bald or flat top.
I would suggest "not" leaving the trimming of the top for too long etc.
The other possibility is your tree is not a leylandii although it does look like one from your picture. It may not be very old so has not got going yet. With time and lack of trimming, they can spread outwards as well as upwards to make big trees. This is why they have become such a nightmare in some gardens and councils have stopped using them as boundary trees in new developments.
Autumn is ideal because the growth has finished for the season, and it will basically be dormant, so you won't really get any more until the following year.
People tend to hate conifers for all sorts of reasons, and often feel they have no benefit to wildlife in any way, but managed correctly, they do. The birds use mine all the time as the safe place to hide before and after using the feeders. It's a vital part of my garden.
They're common as muck here as the climate suits them so well. The biggest drawback in many gardens is that they're shallow rooting, cast a lot of shade, and soak up moisture, which often makes growing other plants around them difficult. Not a problem here. In drier parts of the country, there are probably better choices if people want trees or hedging.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...