In article ],
Another John wrote:
In article ,
Chris Hogg wrote:

... Leylandii often get a bad press, because they are fast
growing, and their owners don't look after them properly and let them
get out of control, and they become a nuisance to neighbours because
of their size. But they're fine _IF_ you look after them properly and
clip them regularly.

I second that. I think leylandii make a fantastic hedge, but I keep ours
clipped (twice a year for me). I knew a bloke once who had a leylandii
hedge about 30 years old (he said) which was no more than a foot thick,
because he kept it well reined-in. It's an extremely good, evergreen
screen.

One thing: after a few years, _any_ hedge will have grown higher than
you thought ... they creep up in height, I've found, because although "I
always take 6" off the top", they actually grow 7" or 8" in the year (if
you see what I mean).

Yes. But that is inevitable ONLY if your hedge is something like
leylandii, which will not regrow from old wood. With plants that
do, you can cut it back to size, either every spring or when it
gets too big for its boots.

The person you mention in the previous paragraph almost certainly
clipped it more than twice a year, and certainly was obsessive
about doing so.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.