We are planning to plant a hedge of Leylandii and will let them grow to
about 6-7'. What would be an ideal distance from the boundary 16-18"?

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).

2p
John

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.

In article ,
(Nick Maclaren) wrote:

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.

Yes - my point was a general one though: you can always chop off the top
of a leylandii, and I regularly have done. The side shoots at the top
then grow vigorously upwards, and form a new top. I just wanted to warn
the OP (if he's new to hedges) that one year you will come to trim your
hedge (whatever the variety), and find that you need ladders to stand
on, instead of the beer crate, to get at the top :-)


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

You're correct: he kept at it all year round iirc. (It was only a foot
thick, but it wasn't very beautiful.)

J.

"kev" wrote in message
...
We are planning to plant a hedge of Leylandii and will let them grow to
about 6-7'. What would be an ideal distance from the boundary 16-18"?

Personally, I'd choose something else,something that doesn't have ambitions
to be 30+ ft high unless you want to be topping and pruning it all the time.
I speak from personal experience.
The previous owners of my house planted a lot of lawson's cypress here
(similar to leylandii) then moved out after 4 years. Despite my best
efforts to keep them within bounds they shot up like Jack's beanstalk. The
more I topped them, the more they spread out sideways as well as up. I
ended up with an "almost" dispute with my previous neighbours who I got on
well with, so I had them removed at huge expense.

I still have three a long way down the garden, no trouble to anyone. Left
alone they have indeed grown to c. 30 ft. There's often goldcrests in them
Goldcrests love conifers.

Do you want leylandii because you want a fast growing hedge to make a
shield?
Or because you like the conifer effect?

On 06/04/2015 20:25, kev wrote:
We are planning to plant a hedge of Leylandii and will let them grow to
about 6-7'. What would be an ideal distance from the boundary 16-18"?


I confess I agree with the others: Leylandii and Lawsonii make good
masters but poor servants. You'd be better off planting a Yew hedge.
It's evergreen. It's one of the smartest hedges there is. It can be
clipped tightly without going brown.

If you want a 6ft hedge (to keep within the law), I suggest you aim for
5ft, as the growth will always run away from you. Even if you keep your
side trimmed, your neighbour may not trim theirs until it becomes a
nuisance. A Yew hedge will cope with that; Leylandii/Lawsonii will not.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On 07/04/2015 22:15, Christina Websell wrote:
"kev" wrote in message
...
We are planning to plant a hedge of Leylandii and will let them grow to
about 6-7'. What would be an ideal distance from the boundary 16-18"?

Personally, I'd choose something else,something that doesn't have ambitions
to be 30+ ft high unless you want to be topping and pruning it all the time.
I speak from personal experience.
The previous owners of my house planted a lot of lawson's cypress here
(similar to leylandii) then moved out after 4 years. Despite my best
efforts to keep them within bounds they shot up like Jack's beanstalk. The
more I topped them, the more they spread out sideways as well as up. I
ended up with an "almost" dispute with my previous neighbours who I got on
well with, so I had them removed at huge expense.

I still have three a long way down the garden, no trouble to anyone. Left
alone they have indeed grown to c. 30 ft. There's often goldcrests in them
Goldcrests love conifers.

Do you want leylandii because you want a fast growing hedge to make a
shield?
Or because you like the conifer effect?


I must disagree with Christine about Leylandii wanting to grow to 30 ft,
that is just in the first 10 years, they can grow to over 100ft, and 3
ft a year isn't unusual, especially if you follow some of the advice so
far given in that you prepare the ground and give them fertilizer.
When I lived in Cardiff I knew a nurse who had leylandii on 3 sides of
her small front garden, she did her back in lifting a patient and was
off work for almost a year, in that time her front garden almost became
a no-go area, the hedge went up to over 12 ft high and was almost 8ft ft
wide.
Have you thought of a Yew hedge, it will cost a bit more and grow a bit
slower but will give you a much better hedge, and one that if you find
it to tall you will be able to reduce the height without spoiling it.

https://www.best4hedging.co.uk/yew-h...lants+for+sale

A lot more firms sell them
David @ a sunny side of Swansea Bay

On 07/04/15 22:42, Spider wrote:
On 06/04/2015 20:25, kev wrote:
We are planning to plant a hedge of Leylandii and will let them grow to
about 6-7'. What would be an ideal distance from the boundary 16-18"?


I confess I agree with the others: Leylandii and Lawsonii make good
masters but poor servants. You'd be better off planting a Yew hedge.
It's evergreen. It's one of the smartest hedges there is. It can be
clipped tightly without going brown.

Although yew is exceptionally toxic to humans which might be a
consideration. OK there's lots of plants you don't go eating, but yew is
quite a bad boy in that respect.



Maybe a beech of some sort which does not lose its leaves even when they
die off - or hornbeam?

If you want a 6ft hedge (to keep within the law), I suggest you aim for
5ft, as the growth will always run away from you. Even if you keep your
side trimmed, your neighbour may not trim theirs until it becomes a
nuisance. A Yew hedge will cope with that; Leylandii/Lawsonii will not.

In article ,
Tim Watts wrote:
On 07/04/15 22:42, Spider wrote:
On 06/04/2015 20:25, kev wrote:
We are planning to plant a hedge of Leylandii and will let them grow to
about 6-7'. What would be an ideal distance from the boundary 16-18"?

I confess I agree with the others: Leylandii and Lawsonii make good
masters but poor servants. You'd be better off planting a Yew hedge.
It's evergreen. It's one of the smartest hedges there is. It can be
clipped tightly without going brown.

Although yew is exceptionally toxic to humans which might be a
consideration. OK there's lots of plants you don't go eating, but yew is
quite a bad boy in that respect.

No, Hamlet is NOT a manual of toxicity, and that is complete and utter
hogwash. It's no more toxic than laburnum, monkshood and many other
garden plants, and less likely to be eaten than most. Human deaths
from it are essentially unknown, except for (rare) suicides. A quick
Web search found:

http://www.ancient-yew.org/s.php/fre...2#howpoisonous


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 08/04/15 02:08, Tim Watts wrote:
Although yew is exceptionally toxic to humans which might be a consideration. OK
there's lots of plants you don't go eating, but yew is quite a bad boy in that
respect.

My father gave me bits of yew to eat. Didn't do me any harm

OK, the bits were the red "berry pith", and fortunately I
avoided eating the actual hard seed.

On Wed, 08 Apr 2015 09:39:07 +0100, Tom Gardner
wrote:

On 08/04/15 02:08, Tim Watts wrote:
Although yew is exceptionally toxic to humans which might be a consideration. OK
there's lots of plants you don't go eating, but yew is quite a bad boy in that
respect.

My father gave me bits of yew to eat.

Why?

--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com

On 08/04/15 08:58, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Tim Watts wrote:
On 07/04/15 22:42, Spider wrote:
On 06/04/2015 20:25, kev wrote:
We are planning to plant a hedge of Leylandii and will let them grow to
about 6-7'. What would be an ideal distance from the boundary 16-18"?

I confess I agree with the others: Leylandii and Lawsonii make good
masters but poor servants. You'd be better off planting a Yew hedge.
It's evergreen. It's one of the smartest hedges there is. It can be
clipped tightly without going brown.

Although yew is exceptionally toxic to humans which might be a
consideration. OK there's lots of plants you don't go eating, but yew is
quite a bad boy in that respect.

No, Hamlet is NOT a manual of toxicity, and that is complete and utter
hogwash. It's no more toxic than laburnum, monkshood and many other
garden plants, and less likely to be eaten than most. Human deaths
from it are essentially unknown, except for (rare) suicides. A quick
Web search found:

I resent that. I haven't even read Hamlet...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxus_baccata#Toxicity

I give you human deaths are indeed rare, but it is most certainly toxic,
except the berry flesh.

On 08/04/15 09:46, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
On Wed, 08 Apr 2015 09:39:07 +0100, Tom Gardner
wrote:

On 08/04/15 02:08, Tim Watts wrote:
Although yew is exceptionally toxic to humans which might be a consideration. OK
there's lots of plants you don't go eating, but yew is quite a bad boy in that
respect.

My father gave me bits of yew to eat.

Why?

Yes, I've occasionally wondered that

The most accurate answer is, probably, "because we saw it on a walk,
and he had eaten bits as a child". He always was a /little/ dismissive
of /excessive/ health and safety, preferring that I learned to recognise
and avoid hazards.

On 08/04/2015 11:18, Tom Gardner wrote:
On 08/04/15 09:46, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
On Wed, 08 Apr 2015 09:39:07 +0100, Tom Gardner
wrote:

On 08/04/15 02:08, Tim Watts wrote:
Although yew is exceptionally toxic to humans which might be a
consideration. OK
there's lots of plants you don't go eating, but yew is quite a bad
boy in that
respect.

My father gave me bits of yew to eat.

Why?

Yes, I've occasionally wondered that

The most accurate answer is, probably, "because we saw it on a walk,
and he had eaten bits as a child". He always was a /little/ dismissive
of /excessive/ health and safety, preferring that I learned to recognise
and avoid hazards.


Or was he trying a bit of very late family planning?

In article ,
Tim Watts wrote:

Although yew is exceptionally toxic to humans which might be a
consideration. OK there's lots of plants you don't go eating, but yew is
quite a bad boy in that respect.

No, Hamlet is NOT a manual of toxicity, and that is complete and utter
hogwash. It's no more toxic than laburnum, monkshood and many other
garden plants, and less likely to be eaten than most. Human deaths
from it are essentially unknown, except for (rare) suicides. A quick
Web search found:

I resent that. I haven't even read Hamlet...

Well, you should.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxus_baccata#Toxicity

I give you human deaths are indeed rare, but it is most certainly toxic,
except the berry flesh.

So what? Yew is NOT "exceptionally toxic", neither is it an
"quite a bad boy in that respect". Essentially the only reason
there have been ANY human deaths is because people believe that
twaddle, and use it as a poison of choice for suicide. Yew is
perfectly safe as a hedge, and not particularly dangerous if
allowed to fruit.

There are dozens of common plants that are at least as toxic as
yew, several that are much more toxic (I mentioned one), several
that are vegetables, and several that regularly cause accidental
human fatalities. Yet yew is singled out for demonisation. It's
total ********.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.