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Leylandii bush help
Vaughn T
Posts: 4
Hello,
Moved into a property a couple of years back, which has a Leylandii bush on some of its borders, unfortunately the bush has been attacked by something, my Dad seems to think it's the dreaded cypress aphid.
I am stuck as to what I should for the best, ie: trim back all brown patches (leaving very little left), or ripping up and replanting something which is less suseptable to attack/virus.
See below pictures.
0
Posts
Think your Dad's right - I'd take it out and plant something much nicer (and much less trouble) - beech, hornbeam, holly ......... or a mixed hedge to encourage wildlife .... there's a wide choice
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Yep. Chainsaw and digger!
Thanks DoveFromAbove
If I simply leave it, will it grow back fully ?, as you can see from the first picture - the cuttings on the floor we from the weekend just gone, so it's still alive.
My other concern is the cost/effort required to rip it all out, considering the length of the bush, would take a considerable amount of work/effort/cost.
Vaughn T
Sadly no amount of cutting out the dead will help if you cut right back to the trunk that`s all your be left with
in fact when you cut & cut those tress don't grow back they simply die.
like dove who is indeed above me
said plant something
more attractive like for instance some Acers
I took a hedge like that out, it was 6-8 ft deep in places, I had a friend that knew how to use a chain saw safely and I hired a large skip( needed 2). We cut all the branches off first, then dug round each stump and cut it off as low as possible. I've been told the stumps of leylandii rot in about five years and they were too big for me to take out. It took a day to do but was absolutely worth it. If the trunks aren't too big when you have cut all the branches off you could try and use the pole bit that is left to 'rock' out the stump
My garden is much more interesting and has much more light now
If I was to rip out this hedge, when would the best time of year to do it ?, bearing in mind replanting new hedge aswell.
Thanks for all the advice - very much appreciated. Unfortunately you have confirmed my worst fears.
You can take it out anytime, I took mine out in May however it meant that for the rest of that summer after improving the soil, I had a watering can in hand at all times to water the everything that was newly planted
It is whatever suits you, the best time for trees, shrubs etc is autumn, depends on what you decide you want to plant
Chop the branches off leaving the trunk then rock and rock them using the trunk to lever them out, once you get the first one out that'll loosen the one next to it and the rest will be easier.
Have a BBQ and invite a local rugby club or similar and issue them with a challenge
As has been said, dig lots of manure/garden compost into the area when they've gone - they impoverish the soil more than anything else I know - then it'll be ready for you to plant something else this late autumn/winter - you can plant bare root hedging plants in the winter, they'll be a lot cheaper and grow a lot quicker
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
looking at the size of the hedge, would the roots be that hard to remove ?
The trunk seems to be about 2-4 inches on most of them.
At that size you should be able to rock the out, mine had 8-10inch trunks and couldn't get them out, its actually good fun
Rocking them out helps to remove the roots as well, which helps the soil and encourages diseases and pests not to linger