Making leylandii grow quicker (yes really!)

Noctu

We decided last summer to plant some Leylandii for increased privacy in our garden.

I understand that growth is slow in the first year as it needs to establish roots, but I was wondering if there's anything I can do to the soil (nutrients etc) to help them along? We're desperate for increased privacy at the moment!

The soil is quite moist although not waterlogged or anything, perhaps this is a contributory factor?

Thanks :j

P.S. I promise to take care of them when they've grown!!! They will be faithfully kept in check :beer:

amazingandhappy

Have a read of this:
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, verdana, arial, sans serif][FONT=Comic Sans MS, verdana, arial, sans serif]David Poole answered:
Planting 5 foot specimens offers absolutely no advantage over smaller sizes and in many cases can create a much poorer quality hedge. Leylandii never seem to thicken up that well if planted out as big specimens and I know from countless instances, that good root development rarely takes place.
Leylandii hedges have a wonderful tendency to collapse like a pack of cards in very high winds and more often than not, this is due to over-large plants being used in the first place. Whatever happens, Leylandii sit for a while and then start to take off. The bigger they are to start with, the longer they take to get going. You can plant 24 - 30" specimens alongside 5 or 6 footers and after 3 years, the smaller plants will have not only caught up, but will be more dense and appear a good deal more healthy.
Pot grown Leylandii are often fairly pot bound and you should lightly tease impacted roots away from the outermost parts of the root ball before planting. Alternatively, lightly slashing the outer roots with a sharp knife will also encourage new roots to grow out into the surrounding soil. You don't need to stab or hack deeply, simply a few, light cutting strokes will cause those roots which have been severed, to form masses of new ones.
Now planting centres for Leylandii can be as little as 2 feet, but root development will be impeded by competition from the other plants resulting in a less stable hedge later on. Ideally 30 - 36" is best. Take out holes at least half as deep and wide as the root ball (or pot size) and mix a good amount of garden compost with the soil. Partly refill so that the plants sit with the top of the rootball just below finished soil level and then fill in around the roots. Lightly firm in and make sure that in the first year at least, your hedge does not want for water in dry weather.[/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS, verdana, arial, sans serif][FONT=Comic Sans MS, verdana, arial, sans serif]Pete The Gardener wrote:
In the first year a three foot laylandii will grow about a foot, a five foot one will grow about four to six inches, in the second year the three foot one could grow as much as six feet whilst the five footer will only grow about a foot. Small plants also form a denser more stable hedge with less chance of the whole thing blowing over. As for planting distances, although it will look far to wide when you set them out I would sugest that you leave at least four feet in a single row or three feet if you are stagger planting.
By the way, remember to start clipping them as soon as they start growing as this will help thicken them up quicker. When they are established you will have to clip them about five or six times a year to keep them under control, don't forget they will grow to about eighty or a hundred feet if left to their own devices.[/FONT][/FONT]