Replacement for Leylandii boundary

Latest Articles

Replacement for Leylandii boundary
Page 1, 2 Next

Downsizer Forum Index -> Land Management

Author

Message

Windymiller

Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 550
Location: West Wales

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 06 4:40 pm Post subject: Replacement for Leylandii boundary

I decided to go and fell some Leylandii. Those of you who are victims of horticultural mis-selling in the past, will know the scene. They grew quickly, knew not when to stop. I pruned the tops and they rewarded me by dying back at the bottoms. So now the wind whistles through the gaps, (and the neighbours can see me sunbathing) I got three of them horizontal, and cut into manageable chunks, ready to go to the woodshed to burn next year. I shredded the smaller twigs for mulch.

I want to replace them with something which has to like it near the coast, can be very windy, is at an altitude of 500' and be decorative. Any suggestions please. The soil is slaty, well drained.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 43773
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 06 5:03 pm Post subject:
no ideas apart from thorns ( sloes )however the timber of leylandia is ace for walking sticks , carving , probably bow making and burns well if dryish . poor hedges but ace standard trees .

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 06 5:07 pm Post subject:
I'd go for Gorse, a lovely coloured hedge & sure to keep any prying neighbours or burglars out (if nothing else you'll hear them coming )

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 43773
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 06 7:37 pm Post subject:
if gorse can live above porthtowan it will be ok most coastal places . and sloes , gorse flowers taste nice so spring and autumn

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 43773
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 06 8:08 pm Post subject:

cornish hedges?
got any stones ?
the thorns
and some prunus
an easy fence and beans for this year , sweet peas and whatever while the hedge grows .
feed the new line lots , leylandii are greedy ( but have guano )the cycle is broken so you need to create a new one
beware rotting roots , they can infect new plantings .
to put the new plants in pots and tend them can be better than to put them straight into the floor .in summer feed the hedge line and the new plantings in late autunm .
ll d i make the soil acidic ,so lime and feed the hedgeline then beans (yum ) then plant the hedge plants you have tended much later in the year . .

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 06 6:37 am Post subject:

A few people have been discussing new hedges recently, mostly with an eye to getting some use out of them as well as having a boundary - here's a couple of threads worth browsing through, and I would especially recommend looking at the Plants for a Future site to see whether there's anything particularly good for your site:

https://forum.downsizer.net/about10910.html
https://forum.downsizer.net/about10508.html
https://forum.downsizer.net/about10286.html

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 06 8:15 am Post subject:
Gorse will be excellent, it seems to thrive near the coast, in the wind. Gorse and maybe some hawthorn would be good; form a good barrier, good for wildlife. And then plant in anything else you fancy. How tall do you want this hedge to end up?

Northern_Lad

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 06 8:28 am Post subject:
If you want a bit of height (but not 500' Leylandii) then you could try bamboo - lots of different types and colours, and most of them don't give too hoots about the conditions. Evergreen, wind-reducing, and they can be maintained with a hedge-trimmer as long as you don't let them get too thick.

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 06 8:35 am Post subject:
I would be quite tempted by bamboo too but wasn't sure of the conditions. The Rose of Sharon you were considering in the other thread might not give you all the privacy you would like, I'm not sure how tall it really manages to get.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 06 8:38 am Post subject:

Bugs wrote:

I would be quite tempted by bamboo too but wasn't sure of the conditions. The Rose of Sharon you were considering in the other thread might not give you all the privacy you would like, I'm not sure how tall it really manages to get.

The one in question gets to 5' or 6'. The only doubt might be how well it'll do in a windy spot near the coast.

Northern_Lad

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 06 8:40 am Post subject:

cab wrote:

Bugs wrote:

The one in question gets to 5' or 6'. The only doubt might be how well it'll do in a windy spot near the coast.

True, but planted on the inside of gorse (space and money allowing) would protect it when young.

Windymiller

Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 550
Location: West Wales

Posted: Sat Apr 15, 06 9:55 pm Post subject:

The Leylandii are reduced to stumps and trunks now. The biggest is 32" girth! So digging up is a non-starter, but I can dig down a bit to cut them. Should I treat them with anything, or just cover them and leave. I thought about jerusalem artichokes for this year, and perhaps pot some Hypericum forestii, it grows 5' and is ok as we are higher than neighbours garden, and there is a solid wall topped with trellis. I will also look at some of the other suggested plants.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45723
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 06 7:20 am Post subject:

Bugs wrote:

I would be quite tempted by bamboo

Doesn't half clank in the wind...

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45723
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 06 7:22 am Post subject:
I'd be tempted to go for Italian Alder (Alnus cordata) with something else at lower level on the inside.

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 06 2:48 pm Post subject:

Windymiller wrote:

Should I treat them with anything, or just cover them and leave

Mushrooms on Leylandii? Double benefit of helping to break down the stumps and providing a crop in the meantime. Don't know if it is safe or possible though!

	Downsizer Forum Index -> Land Management	All times are GMT Page 1, 2 Next
Page 1 of 2

View Latest Posts