I have moved into a house in France and on one side of the garden are what I think are Californian Laurel. They have been allowed to grow wild and some reach 60ft. Whilst I want to retain the Laurel as a wind break they must be cut down as some are interfering with both Telephone and Mains Cables.
Not being experianced with these trees I wonder if any of the forum would be kind enough to advise the best way to approach this problem.
Also can Laurel be trained into a layered hedge by half cutting and bending the stems semi horizontal.

MAny thanks in advance

On Apr 28, 1:27*pm, reguiny no
spaces wrote:
I have moved into a house in France and on one side of the garden are
what I think are Californian Laurel. They have been allowed to grow
wild and some reach 60ft. Whilst I want to retain the Laurel as a wind
break they must be cut down as some are interfering with both Telephone
and Mains Cables.
Not being experianced with these trees I wonder if any of the
forum would be kind enough to advise the best way to approach this
problem.
Also can Laurel be trained into a layered hedge by half cutting and
bending the stems semi horizontal.

MAny thanks in advance

--
English husband has never heard of plashing Laurel before. According to the American Horticultural Society A-Z it says that California laurel, or headache tree at maturity grows 60 foot high and 40 foot wide. That this tree is usually grown as a specimen tree or as a hedge or screen and that one form of propagation is inserting semi-ripe cuttings in summer. Plashing according to James (not done this meself....but HE has) is making a cut not completely through some branches and bend it down to heal horizontal, then as it heals and grows, it will send up vertical shoots. I looked up the term and until he drew a diagram, it didn't fit into my head right. but the light came on and I understand. Apparently in England (and other area's, of course, since it's a form of making impenenitrable medieval hedges. You will have to Google information concerning Laurels, specifically mature California ones to see if you can do that. He says they did this to hawthorn and yews, but not heard of doing it with a mature Laurel (apparently according to the book it can be grown as hedges, but yours has been allowed to grow quite wild. I'd look for an older person there who knows his trees and such before acting hastily. A tree that's known alternately as a Headache Tree isn't my idea of joy......but the picture in the book was beautiful, so go figure. g Good luck with your endeavor, and how wonderful you're living in France now! (really!!) Maybe an older established nursery nearby can advise you before you have to cut these mature trees completely down for the lines and wires. Good luck, and keep us informed. I'm curious as to what you'll be able to do. Thanks to you, you enabled me to finally understand something my husband has explained to me once before, but the "light" just hadn't come on until now! LOL

madgardener up in upper northeastern part of Tennessee near the foot
of the Cherokee National Forest and along the Appalachians in
gardening zone 7a, Sunset zone 36