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Should i worry about conifer growth rate?

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  • seanoctagan
    seanoctagan Posts: 50 Forumite
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    my mum bought 2 tiny potted conifers from Woolworths (remember them!!) 30 years ago and planted them in our back garden next to an 8 foot supporting wall - they are now mighty 30 foot trees - not affected the wall at all, but my mum really wants to get rid of them - she's been quoted £1000 to cut down and dispose of them - any ideas for getting rid of them for a price closer to the £2 she paid for them 30 years ago?!
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 19,117 Forumite
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    What height are they?

    You can usually cut it back by a third. Trim the sides but do not cut into brown wood as it won't regenerate. Only cut back into green wood.

    Leylandiii should be trimmed three times a year , between April and August, to keep them in check
  • choille
    choille Posts: 9,710 Forumite
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    Conifers are generally shallow rooted but they can come down if it's very wet and windy so I would want them to be short enough not to damage property ie come down on a roof. They also can make the ground quite acidic so nothing will grow beneath them usually.
  • glasgowdan
    glasgowdan Posts: 2,967 Forumite
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    sheramber wrote: »
    What height are they?

    You can usually cut it back by a third. Trim the sides but do not cut into brown wood as it won't regenerate. Only cut back into green wood.

    Leylandiii should be trimmed three times a year , between April and August, to keep them in check

    3x a year?!?! I must have been doing something wrong the last ten years in business cutting them once a year. Saying that, they are all neat and in check so maybe I've just been lucky !!!9786;
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
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    No, I think I only did mine once every 18 months, on average, though it might have been closer to once a year.

    I had them for 20 years and they didn't get out of hand.
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 19,117 Forumite
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    https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=596
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,557 Forumite
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    glasgowdan wrote: »
    3x a year?!?! I must have been doing something wrong the last ten years in business cutting them once a year. Saying that, they are all neat and in check so maybe I've just been lucky !!!9786;
    Davesnave wrote: »
    No, I think I only did mine once every 18 months, on average, though it might have been closer to once a year.

    I had them for 20 years and they didn't get out of hand.

    The plants sold as Leylandii don't all come from one source - the hybrid has appeared on lots of occasions. Each hybrid will have slightly different characteristics and some won't be as vigorous as others.
  • glasgowdan
    glasgowdan Posts: 2,967 Forumite
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    sheramber wrote: »
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=596

    Good old RHS... plant advice for the unemployed!
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