This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Shallow rooted hedge
salphilmachin
Posts: 1
Hi all.
As a fairly inexperienced gardener I need some advice. Having recently moved house I find I have a line of leylandi planted directly over my sewer outlet from the house.
The current leylandi are about 6 to 8 ft tall. I would like to replace them but with what? The replacements should need to be evergreen, shallow rooted( no more than 1 metre deep), and can be 4 feet tall.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou.
0
Posts
Leylanddi tend to be fairly shallow rooted anyway. If you just cut the leylandii down to 4' high that will restrict their root run. They are bug feeders so if you apply an annual top dressing f something like pelleted chicken manure in spring and some mulch in autumn, after some good rainfall, they will not need to send their roots out far and thus deplenish the surrounding soil.
If you decide to pull it up and replace it you will need to replenish teh soil before planting anything else. I would advise something with smallish leaves as these stay neater when trimmed and don't get ugly brown edges like laurel leaves can when cut. Privet would be good as would lonicera ntida and evergreen forms of berberis. Yew would be lovely but is poisonous so your neighbours may be worried if they have children or pets.
Sarcococca would give your fragrant blooms in winter and photinia red Robin wouyld give you lovely red foliage in its new growth in spring and after being trimmed. Avoid box as it is subject to box blight which has no available remedies for amateur gardeners.
I'd have the leylandii out now, before they become larger when mainenance will become quite a chore. Privet is relatively shallow rooted and much easier to trim.
Last edited: 19 March 2017 13:03:32
I have leylandii as a hedge between me and what were, the neighbours from hell. It is now kept at a four foot hedge and all it needs is a trim at the back end of the year. So unless you really hate the leylandii you can manage it very easily.