I have a number of low spreading very large conifers. They seem to be
to big for the location. How and when can I cut them back, as it seems
as thou there will be just wood with no shoots afterwoods.

Or is it a case of dig out.

wrote:
I have a number of low spreading very large conifers. They seem to be
to big for the location. How and when can I cut them back, as it seems
as thou there will be just wood with no shoots afterwoods.

Or is it a case of dig out.

You're right: if you cut back into brown wood, they won't grow back.
And if you prune them more sparingly, leaving green growth to keep them
alive, you won't really get the shape back. Other things being equal,
I'd have 'em out: your "seem to be too big for the location" says it
all. There are more interesting trees to grow which won't take over
your light and space. Of course, if they were planted originally as a
screen, as the more ordinary conifers like Lawson and Leyland usually
are, you'd have to weigh up the swings and roundabouts balance.

It'd be worth taking a gentle spin around the neighbourhood to find
other trees of the same kind (you can take a spray of foliage with you
if you aren't confident about identification) to see how they've been
treated, and with what effect. You'll probably find some horrible
object-lessons!

--
Mike.

In reply to Mike Lyle ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

wrote:
I have a number of low spreading very large conifers. They seem to be
to big for the location. How and when can I cut them back, as it
seems as thou there will be just wood with no shoots afterwoods.

Or is it a case of dig out.

You're right: if you cut back into brown wood, they won't grow back.


I'm not sure that's true of all leylandi even. I was dealing with two at the
weekend with a chainsaw, one greens up and one doesn't. I'll find out what
exact varieties they are.

The sides don't regrow on one of them, but the top does on both. But they
need a good seeing-to with the chainsaw, then leaving for a few months to
recover before you can reshape them on the top with a hedgetrimmer. It has
worked before, for me anyway.

"Uncle Marvo" wrote
I'm not sure that's true of all leylandi even. I was dealing with two
at the weekend with a chainsaw, one greens up and one doesn't. I'll
find out what exact varieties they are.

The one that regrows might be a Thuja of some kind. They're often used
for hedging because you can cut them harder back than Leylandii and
they'll regrow.

--
Sue

In reply to Sue ) who wrote this in
ws.net, I, Marvo, say :

"Uncle Marvo" wrote
I'm not sure that's true of all leylandi even. I was dealing with two
at the weekend with a chainsaw, one greens up and one doesn't. I'll
find out what exact varieties they are.

The one that regrows might be a Thuja of some kind. They're often used
for hedging because you can cut them harder back than Leylandii and
they'll regrow.

Chappie on the chainsaw said it was a leylandi something-beginning-with-C. I
think he knew, he's got some sort of arboricultural degree or other. I'll
ask him next time I see him, it's all over my head. About a foot over, at
the moment.

Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message .com
from "Mike Lyle" contains these words:


wrote:
I have a number of low spreading very large conifers. They seem to be
to big for the location. How and when can I cut them back, as it seems
as thou there will be just wood with no shoots afterwoods.


You're right: if you cut back into brown wood, they won't grow back.

Unless they are yews, which can be hard pruned and will resprout from
a brown trunk.

Of course. But an enquirer who just calls them "conifers" and needs
advice is pretty certainly talking about the usual suspects, and
probably doesn't even think of the yew as a conifer ("So where are the
cones, then? All I can see are these beries."), or know what a
gymnosperm is. I think I named the likely suspects in my evidence to
this Court.

--
Mike.

Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message .com
from "Mike Lyle" contains these words:


Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message .com
from "Mike Lyle" contains these words:


wrote:
I have a number of low spreading very large conifers. They seem to be
to big for the location. How and when can I cut them back, as it seems
as thou there will be just wood with no shoots afterwoods.


You're right: if you cut back into brown wood, they won't grow back.

Unless they are yews, which can be hard pruned and will resprout from
a brown trunk.

Of course. But an enquirer who just calls them "conifers" and needs
advice is pretty certainly talking about the usual suspects, and
probably doesn't even think of the yew as a conifer ("So where are the
cones, then? All I can see are these beries."),

I doubt if such enquirers link "conifer" with "cones", and I bet they
wouldn't identify any cones on cupressus:-)

Well, if it actually matters, my surmise remains that anybody who needs
to ask, and doesn't realise it matters which conifer is which, is
rather unlikely to know or care that a yew is one of them. But since
we're in the realm of speculation, if the OP doesn't reappear to tell
us we shall never know.

--
Mike.