Large Conifers

Crimsonlake

I am hoping someone can advise regarding a decision I am struggling to make over my two tall conifers at the bottom of my garden which I inherited with the house a few years ago.
 Do I lob them to gutter level or shed level or take them down to stump? I am not sure of the condition of the fence behind them or who owns it, but from what I can tell they do not appear to be falling down in any way. I have also noticed that there is a degree of browning at lower levels
 Additionally I do not enjoy looking at a plain fence and enjoy lots of greenery, even ivy covering wooden fences. 
Lobbing them significantly or taking them down to stump would mean I become overlooked in the garden, so in some ways they are useful to provide a level of privacy. If I replaced them with something else it would take a few years to provide any decent levels of privacy.
I am aware conifers grow quickly, so basically I want to avoid as a single income house hold having to factor in the extra cost of continually having them reduced.
So to significantly lob or should I go right down to stump? Work booked in for next weekend and need to make my decision before then .
Any thoughts gratefully received. TIA

Keep_pedalling

I would have those horrible things cut off at the stump, they won’t grow back from there.

Crimsonlake

Thank you.
I will base my decision on hopefully more comments.

Ebe_Scrooge

"Lop", not "Lob"

Conifers can make a great hedge as long as they're kept regularly trimmed - just wait until they reach the height you want, then keep them in check with an annual trim.

But the problem is, they don't take kindly to drastic hacking.  If you reduce the height significantly you'll be left with a flat-topped tree which looks most unnatural, and will take a long time to regain its shape.  If you reduce the width significantly you'll find that you're left with brown branches to look at.  New growth comes from the tips, and the "inside", as it were, naturally dies off.

So really you've got two options.  Either give it a light trim to neaten it up, without removing too much material (probably not practical).  Or take them right down.  Much as I hate to cut trees down unnecessarily, with large conifers it can often be the only realistic option.

If you're getting a proper tree surgeon in to deal with them, he should be able to give you expert advice on what's possible.  But I suspect he'll advise complete removal.

Crimsonlake

Ebe_Scrooge, thank you for your response.
I totally agree with trying to avoid cutting down trees unnecessarily but what with quite a small garden and the ground drying up quite badly beneath the trees...
Ideally I would want to cut them back drastically, to avoid killing the trees and also to save continued financial maintenance costs.
A light trim say down to gutter level even would see quick re-growth.
From what you have said I am leaning more towards going down to the stumps I think.

Ebe_Scrooge

Crimsonlake said:

Ebe_Scrooge, thank you for your response.
I totally agree with trying to avoid cutting down trees unnecessarily but what with quite a small garden and the ground drying up quite badly beneath the trees...
Ideally I would want to cut them back drastically, to avoid killing the trees and also to save continued financial maintenance costs.
A light trim say down to gutter level even would see quick re-growth.
From what you have said I am leaning more towards going down to the stumps I think.

It's not always easy to tell just from a picture - honestly, if you say you've got someone booked in, I'd ask their advice as to what's possible, and what would be best for your particular situation.  If you are able to trim them without causing too much damage, and without making them an eyesore then great - you'll retain the privacy they give.  However, you must bear in mind that you'll then need to trim them fairly regularly, and budget accordingly unless it's a job you're able to tackle yourself.

Trimming conifers is not difficult as such, it's just the actual height that can make it awkward. You can't really prop a ladder up against them, and you can't easily climb up them.  So it's usually a scaffold tower or a cherry-picker that's needed for very tall trees.

Years ago I used to know a tree surgeon, he said he hated working on conifers as they were so awkward to get to.  Something like an Oak or whatever, he'd climb the tree (wearing a harness and all the proper safety gear, of course) and could scramble around to his heart's content to cut off whatever branches were needed.

Crimsonlake

Thank you again, for some reason this particular company want my decision before the day.
I did have a previous higher quote and he suggested down to gutter level, but looking at how quickly my neighbours conifers grew after lobbing it puts me off.
Relatives had their conifers cut to the stump and were happy with the work of the tree company I have booked in, they are substantially cheaper than the first quote. Simply gave me a quote from a picture I sent, but since they were recommended and despite visiting I have decided to go with these. Thanks again.

molerat

Another vote for the nuclear option here.  Horrible things.

Apodemus

Nice trees, but wrong place!  There are only a few conifers that will grow back at all from old wood, so in all probability a drastic pruning will mean the end of these particular trees - unless you leave sufficient green tips to grow back, and these are likely to be quite far out from the trunk.  I'm afraid removal is likely to be the best option.

Eldi_Dos

@ Crimsonlake.
 Have you spoken to neighbour behind the conifers,they might like the privacy the trees give. I quite like the trees and they are far enough away from house.Conifers get a bad reputation if they are in the wrong location or too small a garden but that does not apply in your case.
If it was me and neighbour was agreeable I would take out the tree nearest your blue hut and leave the other one as a specimen tree, there may be a bit of browning on the tree left but would not be so noticeable from the house.The amenity value of a maturing tree in that location would be good and provide shelter and habitat for local birds.

Crimsonlake

Thank you to all who have given up your time to offer advice.
Eldi_Dos, if I consider what the neighbours want that would make my decision even more difficult. I am just pleased they have never complained about their drastic height.
To be honest whilst not tiny, the garden is small. However I quite like your suggestion of taking the tree nearest to the shed down to stump and possibly lobbing the remaining one down to gutter height, so will now mull that over.