If you were getting rid of an evergreen windbreak...
 

It was a hedge (species unknown) which was neglected and grew about twenty feet tall. The bottom half was just trunk and the top had barely any leaves. Anyway, we are cutting it down to replant. We originally planned on hiring a digger to pull the stumps out, but a friend has advised just cutting the stumps down to the ground, making deep cuts in them to collect rain water, and letting them rot where they are. We have space to replant between/around them.

What do you think?

Thanks

Laura

If you were getting rid of an evergreen windbreak...
 

"Laura Corin" wrote in message
...

It was a hedge (species unknown) which was neglected and grew about
twenty feet tall. The bottom half was just trunk and the top had barely
any leaves. Anyway, we are cutting it down to replant. We originally
planned on hiring a digger to pull the stumps out, but a friend has
advised just cutting the stumps down to the ground, making deep cuts in
them to collect rain water, and letting them rot where they are. We
have space to replant between/around them.

What do you think?

Thanks

Laura




--
Laura Corin

Leaving stumps will either mean that they will regrow as Janet has said or
that in time their getting some forms of fungi as they naturally rot down
which can transmit to other woody plants in the area. If you have the room
and money to get them out that is the best solution, if you decide to leave
them treat the stumps to kill them and to speed up the rotting process.


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

If you were getting rid of an evergreen windbreak...
 

On Aug 22, 5:42*pm, Laura Corin Laura.Corin.
wrote:
It was a hedge (species unknown) which was neglected and grew about
twenty feet tall. *The bottom half was just trunk and the top had barely
any leaves. *Anyway, we are cutting it down to replant. *We originally
planned on hiring a digger to pull the stumps out, but a friend has
advised just cutting the stumps down to the ground, making deep cuts in
them to collect rain water, and letting them rot where they are. *We
have space to replant between/around them.

What do you think?

Thanks

Laura

--
Laura Corin

As well as the reservations of Janet and Charlie, there's the fact
that you'll be hitting roots every time you try to plant anything so
if you can get rid of them and while you're at it use the digger as a
great big spade to dig the area much more deeply than you can by hand.

Rod

If you were getting rid of an evergreen windbreak...
 

On Aug 23, 6:24*pm, Sacha wrote:
On 2011-08-22 17:42:46 +0100, Laura Corin
said:



It was a hedge (species unknown) which was neglected and grew about
twenty feet tall. *The bottom half was just trunk and the top had barely
any leaves. *Anyway, we are cutting it down to replant. *We originally
planned on hiring a digger to pull the stumps out, but a friend has
advised just cutting the stumps down to the ground, making deep cuts in
them to collect rain water, and letting them rot where they are. *We
have space to replant between/around them.

What do you think?

Thanks

Laura

As they rot, they will take goodness from the soil (which will be
replaced later in the rotting process, but quite a bit later) so
anything you plant between them may suffer accordingly from lack of
nourishment. *Whatever you decide to do to get rid of them, that is
something to bear in mind. *On the other hand, another solution is to
take all the branches off and paint the 'wounds' to prevent them
re-sprouting, string rope between them and use them as supports for
climbers, such as rambling roses and Clematis. *This will still offer
you some kind of screening and will be pretty, too. *In the end, it may
save you money! *It would help if you knew what the hedge plants are?
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

You say you want to cut down and get rid of a hedge the type of which
you don't know to replace it with a hedge.
How large are the stems/trunks of the present hedge?
It might be possible to cut the existing hedge hard back or even to
layer the stems after shortening and let them regrow as a new hedge.
If the existing hedge was a form of conifer then this probably won't
happen.
If you need a boundary for security then you could use the existing
stems as poats to carry a wire fence, and as Sacha saysa you could
plant climbing roses and grow them along to form a temp. hedge.
A couple of pictures of what you have now would help, showing the
leaves and the body of the hedge.
David

If you were getting rid of an evergreen windbreak...
 

On Aug 23, 6:40*pm, Dave Hill wrote:
On Aug 23, 6:24*pm, Sacha wrote:





On 2011-08-22 17:42:46 +0100, Laura Corin
said:

It was a hedge (species unknown) which was neglected and grew about
twenty feet tall. *The bottom half was just trunk and the top had barely
any leaves. *Anyway, we are cutting it down to replant. *We originally
planned on hiring a digger to pull the stumps out, but a friend has
advised just cutting the stumps down to the ground, making deep cuts in
them to collect rain water, and letting them rot where they are. *We
have space to replant between/around them.

What do you think?

Thanks

Laura

As they rot, they will take goodness from the soil (which will be
replaced later in the rotting process, but quite a bit later) so
anything you plant between them may suffer accordingly from lack of
nourishment. *Whatever you decide to do to get rid of them, that is
something to bear in mind. *On the other hand, another solution is to
take all the branches off and paint the 'wounds' to prevent them
re-sprouting, string rope between them and use them as supports for
climbers, such as rambling roses and Clematis. *This will still offer
you some kind of screening and will be pretty, too. *In the end, it may
save you money! *It would help if you knew what the hedge plants are?
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

You say you want to cut down and get rid of a hedge the type of which
you don't know to replace it with a hedge.
How large are the stems/trunks of the present hedge?
It might be possible to cut the existing hedge hard back or even to
layer the stems after shortening and let them regrow as a new hedge.
If the existing hedge was a form of conifer then this probably won't
happen.
If you need a boundary for security then you could use the existing
stems as poats to carry a wire fence, and as Sacha saysa you could
plant climbing roses and grow them along to form a temp. hedge.
A couple of pictures of what you have now would help, showing the
leaves and the body of the hedge.
David- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Just wondering if you could have had a Laurel hedge
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ry20Laurel.jpg
' if so it will grow back well from stumps.

If you were getting rid of an evergreen windbreak...
 

"Dave Hill" wrote in message
...
On Aug 23, 6:40 pm, Dave Hill wrote:
On Aug 23, 6:24 pm, Sacha wrote:





On 2011-08-22 17:42:46 +0100, Laura Corin
said:

It was a hedge (species unknown) which was neglected and grew about
twenty feet tall. The bottom half was just trunk and the top had
barely
any leaves. Anyway, we are cutting it down to replant. We originally
planned on hiring a digger to pull the stumps out, but a friend has
advised just cutting the stumps down to the ground, making deep cuts
in
them to collect rain water, and letting them rot where they are. We
have space to replant between/around them.

What do you think?

Thanks

Laura

As they rot, they will take goodness from the soil (which will be
replaced later in the rotting process, but quite a bit later) so
anything you plant between them may suffer accordingly from lack of
nourishment. Whatever you decide to do to get rid of them, that is
something to bear in mind. On the other hand, another solution is to
take all the branches off and paint the 'wounds' to prevent them
re-sprouting, string rope between them and use them as supports for
climbers, such as rambling roses and Clematis. This will still offer
you some kind of screening and will be pretty, too. In the end, it may
save you money! It would help if you knew what the hedge plants are?
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

You say you want to cut down and get rid of a hedge the type of which
you don't know to replace it with a hedge.
How large are the stems/trunks of the present hedge?
It might be possible to cut the existing hedge hard back or even to
layer the stems after shortening and let them regrow as a new hedge.
If the existing hedge was a form of conifer then this probably won't
happen.
If you need a boundary for security then you could use the existing
stems as poats to carry a wire fence, and as Sacha saysa you could
plant climbing roses and grow them along to form a temp. hedge.
A couple of pictures of what you have now would help, showing the
leaves and the body of the hedge.
David- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Just wondering if you could have had a Laurel hedge
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ry20Laurel.jpg
' if so it will grow back well from stumps.
.................................................. ........................

I had a Laurel Hedge down one side of the drive of my house in Leicester.
'Massive' thing. Got rid of it, complete with all roots.

:-((

Then had put a fence up. :-((

Worse mistake I ever made in gardening

Mike


--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

If you were getting rid of an evergreen windbreak...
 

On Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:48:07 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote:

pruned

Just wondering if you could have had a Laurel hedge
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ry20Laurel.jpg
' if so it will grow back well from stumps.

If it is laurel, to say it will "grow back well from stumps" is a bit
of an understatement. It'll grow back whether you want it to or not
and even if you keep removing the growth, it'll still be trying 20
years later.

It would really be worth identifying what the old hedge was. Do you
have any pics or is there a bit remaining with some leaves that you
could photograph and post via Garden Banter (you can post pics to GB
and link to them in a post to this group but can't post pics direct
here). [1]

Getting an ID on the old hedge would avoid a lot of speculation and
possibly a mistake that might come back to haunt you. As you refer to
"leaves" I suppose we can rule out the normal hedging conifers but
there are some other little "thugs" that might not take kindly to
being decapitated and left as stumps!

[1] Note to corvus: that is not a dig at Garden Banter; it's intended
to be helpful, unlike your digital excretions.

Cheers
Jake
==============================================
Gardening at the dry end (east) of Swansea Bay
in between reading anything by JRR Tolkien.

www.rivendell.org.uk

The main exception being cypresses and the like, which, in compensation for their other unpleasant habits, will at least stop growing if pruned at ground level.

I have the stump of a cypress I cut down 10 years ago, which I suspect predated most of the other conifers in the garden, as it was much fatter. All the others I was able to dig out the stump by hand, but this one is too big. But the remaining stump has barely rotted at all in 10 years.

I have rejuvenated overgrown hedges of laurel, beech and viburnum tinus by very radical pruning, ie, removing about 90% of the plant. There's no need to be gentle or careful about it. It is a good idea to make sure that the stump you leave is at least 2 feet below the top of the eventual hedge you desire.

Sorry - I should have been more specific. They are some form of conifer. The leaves are soft, bluish-green and frondy. The trunks grow silver-ish over time. I don't think they are Leylandii - we have those too, in another part of the garden.

Thanks

Laura

That's not what I hoped to hear, but it's good to know. We plan to replant with (non-running) bamboo of various types. We have lots of space on that side of the garden, so the clumps of bamboo won't be a nuisance, even if they spread ten feet wide each. We can plant the bamboo in front of the remains of the conifer stumps and let it work its way into that area as it is able. Our 'neighbour' is a large field, so the stump remains wouldn't be an eyesore.

Thanks

Laura

If you were getting rid of an evergreen windbreak...
 

On Aug 26, 7:22*am, Laura Corin Laura.Corin.
wrote:
echinosum;933868 Wrote:

The main exception being cypresses and the like, which, in compensation
for their other unpleasant habits, will at least stop growing if pruned
at ground level.

I have the stump of a cypress I cut down 10 years ago, which I suspect
predated most of the other conifers in the garden, as it was much
fatter. All the others I was able to dig out the stump by hand, but this
one is too big. *But the remaining stump has barely rotted at all in 10
years.

That's not what I hoped to hear, but it's good to know. *We plan to
replant with (non-running) bamboo of various types. *We have lots of
space on that side of the garden, so the clumps of bamboo won't be a
nuisance, even if they spread ten feet wide each. *We can plant the
bamboo in front of the remains of the conifer stumps and let it work its
way into that area as it is able. *Our 'neighbour' is a large field, so
the stump remains wouldn't be an eyesore.

Thanks

Laura

--
Laura Corin

If you had said they were conifers at the start it would have made
answering your question so much easier.

If you were getting rid of an evergreen windbreak...
 

On 24/08/2011 10:30, echinosum wrote:
Janet;933758 Wrote:
Plants used for hedging are usually selected for their ability to
either sucker or regrow from violent pruning.
The main exception being cypresses and the like, which, in compensation
for their other unpleasant habits, will at least stop growing if pruned
at ground level.

I have the stump of a cypress I cut down 10 years ago, which I suspect
predated most of the other conifers in the garden, as it was much
fatter. All the others I was able to dig out the stump by hand, but this
one is too big. But the remaining stump has barely rotted at all in 10
years.

The trick is to drill a few one inch holes into the top of it and add a
few grammes copper sulphate to each and water in and leave for a month.
Then pack the holes with potassium or ammonium nitrate and leave. This
should create the conditions where wet wood rotting fungi can easily
colonise the tree stump and weaken it to the point where you can dig
down and prize it out with a couple of scaffold poles. You may still
have to wait about 5 years for a really big tree stump though.

The trace of copper is needed to inhibit the residual enzymes in the
dead wood that protect it against fungi.

I have rejuvenated overgrown hedges of laurel, beech and viburnum tinus
by very radical pruning, ie, removing about 90% of the plant. There's
no need to be gentle or careful about it. It is a good idea to make
sure that the stump you leave is at least 2 feet below the top of the
eventual hedge you desire.

Most things grown as hedges can tolerate incredible levels of cutting
back there are few exceptions too like the notorious Leylandii.

Regards,
Martin Brown

If you were getting rid of an evergreen windbreak...
 

In article , Martin Brown
writes

Most things grown as hedges can tolerate incredible levels of cutting
back there are few exceptions too like the notorious Leylandii.


Not sure if I missed something - but if the OP is getting three fellahs
to do the removal, they will usually do stump grinding for not much
more. Doesn't get rid of all the root, but takes it reasonably back.

--
regards andyw

Be aware that the only truly non-running bamboos you can routinely grow in this country are Fargesias and Thamnocalamus (there rae some others, but they are expensive connoisseur things). If a seller tries to tell you that a Phyllostachys or Pseudosasa or Semiarundinaria is non-running, they are either ignorant or lying. Of course there are plenty of individual cases of Phyllostachys and Pseudosasa being planted and behaving very timidly for many years in this country, and of course none of them has remotely the rampant qualities of the thug that is Sasa palmata. But you can't rely on them staying put.

If you were getting rid of an evergreen windbreak...
 

On 26/08/2011 14:41, wrote:
In article , Martin Brown
writes

Most things grown as hedges can tolerate incredible levels of cutting
back there are few exceptions too like the notorious Leylandii.


Not sure if I missed something - but if the OP is getting three fellahs
to do the removal, they will usually do stump grinding for not much
more. Doesn't get rid of all the root, but takes it reasonably back.

I missed that bit. If a stump grinder is available then it is easy. A
trace of dilute copper sulphate on the remaining bits cut ends will help
accelerate the wood rot fungi colonising the leftovers.

Regards,
Martin Brown