Should i worry about conifer growth rate?

seanoctagan

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

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

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

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

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

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=596

Mojisola

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

sheramber wrote: »

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=596

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