I have recently moved to a house in a typical surburbain area. At the end of
the garden there are some conifer trees that must be over 30 foot in height.
With the way that the sun moves throughout the day they do not affect the
light in my garden but one of my neighbours gardens must be in constant
shade. Nothing has been said by the neighbour but I feel I should cut them
down to a more reasonable 15 to 20 foot. I would like to keep some height as
they obsure the view to a rather ugly building behind the houses.

Am I under any legal/bye law obligation to cut the trees down to a lower
height?.

Due to the dry summer the trees to look abit brown towards the top and
edges. If I cut down at this time of year am I likely to kill off the trees.

I am planning to build a large shed in front of the trees so I would rather
do any cutting now so I do not risk damaging the shed at a later date.

Eric.

"Eric the Red" wrote in message
...
there are some conifer trees that must be over 30 foot in height....
Am I under any legal/bye law obligation to cut the trees down to a lower
height?....
If I cut down at this time of year am I likely to kill off the trees...

No, as far as I know there are not yet any laws restricting height of trees.
Are they leylandii? If so, a tree surgeon told me that you can chop down
one-third of the height at any one time and the trees will be fine. When
the trees have recovered in a year or so, then you can take down another
third of the remaining height. This time of year is perfect to do it. Do
not cut back into old wood because the tree won't grow back. If the trees
are 30 feet high I would imagine you'd need a professional tree surgeon to
do the work -- it's a dangerous business!!

"Janice" wrote in message
...
"Eric the Red" wrote in message
...
there are some conifer trees that must be over 30 foot in height....
Am I under any legal/bye law obligation to cut the trees down to a lower
height?....
If I cut down at this time of year am I likely to kill off the trees...

No, as far as I know there are not yet any laws restricting height of
trees.
Are they leylandii? If so, a tree surgeon told me that you can chop down
one-third of the height at any one time and the trees will be fine. When
the trees have recovered in a year or so, then you can take down another
third of the remaining height. This time of year is perfect to do it. Do
not cut back into old wood because the tree won't grow back. If the trees
are 30 feet high I would imagine you'd need a professional tree surgeon to
do the work -- it's a dangerous business!!


I might be being a bit dim, but if you cut them by a third, would you not
then be cutting into old wood? Surely you need to cut into old wood to get
the height reduced over time?

Peter.

"Snowman" wrote in message
...
Are they leylandii? If so, a tree surgeon told me that you can chop
down
one-third of the height at any one time and the trees will be fine.

I might be being a bit dim, but if you cut them by a third, would you not
then be cutting into old wood? Surely you need to cut into old wood to get
the height reduced over time?

I know what you mean, perhaps I should've said "dead wood" rather than "old
wood". As long as there's still green growth then the tree will regenerate.
If you cut into where there's only brown growth the tree won't regrow. When
my trees were cut down twice (a third each time) they were still green at
the point they were cut.

We had a few tree surgeons visit to give us advice and free estimates.

In article ,
"Janice" writes:
| "Snowman" wrote in message
| ...
| Are they leylandii? If so, a tree surgeon told me that you can chop
| down
| one-third of the height at any one time and the trees will be fine.
|
| I might be being a bit dim, but if you cut them by a third, would you not
| then be cutting into old wood? Surely you need to cut into old wood to get
| the height reduced over time?
|
| I know what you mean, perhaps I should've said "dead wood" rather than "old
| wood". As long as there's still green growth then the tree will regenerate.
| If you cut into where there's only brown growth the tree won't regrow. When
| my trees were cut down twice (a third each time) they were still green at
| the point they were cut.

Hang on. You were right the first time. Brown growth is not dead
wood - it is old wood. While cutting back into green growth by a
third twice is possible, it indicates that the trees were very small
at the time - you can't do that with most 20' ones, for example, and
certainly not with 40' ones.

The only sensible thing that you can do with most seriously overgrown
conifers (including leylandii) is to take them out and replant.
There are a very few conifers that will coppice (and one or two may
even regrow from old wood - though I don't know if any do), but
leylandii is not one of them.

Yew is not a conifer in the botanical sense, of course, and it will
regrow from old wood.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Eric the Red" wrote in
:

I have recently moved to a house in a typical surburbain area. At the
end of the garden there are some conifer trees that must be over 30
foot in height. With the way that the sun moves throughout the day
they do not affect the light in my garden but one of my neighbours
gardens must be in constant shade. Nothing has been said by the
neighbour but I feel I should cut them down to a more reasonable 15 to
20 foot. I would like to keep some height as they obsure the view to a
rather ugly building behind the houses.

Assuming they are leylandii or similar, it's likely that they will grow
back again over time, and present the same problem in a few years. The side
branches will grow round and up, and make a new growing point.

It's also worth remembering that the height they are now is not necessarily
the potential maximum height. They may get a lot bigger.

I would have a chat with the neighbour first: he/she is much less likely to
be annoyed about whatever you decide to do if you talk it through
beforehand and explain your reasoning.

Personally (and depending on exactly what sort of tree they are) I think
I'd take them down now and replant with smaller trees. They may take a
while to get back to your perfect 20-foot height, but at least they will
never be *too* big.

Victoria

The message
from "Janice" contains these words:

No, as far as I know there are not yet any laws restricting height of trees.
Are they leylandii? If so, a tree surgeon told me that you can chop down
one-third of the height at any one time and the trees will be fine. When
the trees have recovered in a year or so, then you can take down another
third of the remaining height. This time of year is perfect to do it. Do
not cut back into old wood because the tree won't grow back. If the trees
are 30 feet high I would imagine you'd need a professional tree surgeon to
do the work -- it's a dangerous business!!

Dangerous? How far can you fall into a Leyland cypress? Just cut from
the top down so you can't fall on any sharp bits.

And don't try removing the bottom third first unless you have a good
supply of skyhooks.

--
Rusty Hinge
No m'lud, it wasn't a sneg. My joints creak.

The message
from "Snowman" contains these words:

I might be being a bit dim, but if you cut them by a third, would you not
then be cutting into old wood? Surely you need to cut into old wood to get
the height reduced over time?

I think she means - don't expect new growth on branches etc from which
all the foliage has been removed.

--
Rusty Hinge
No m'lud, it wasn't a sneg. My joints creak.

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:

/hack/
Yew is not a conifer in the botanical sense, of course, and it will
regrow from old wood.

In its own good time..........

--
Rusty Hinge
No m'lud, it wasn't a sneg. My joints creak.

The message
from Victoria Clare contains these words:


It's also worth remembering that the height they are now is not necessarily
the potential maximum height. They may get a lot bigger.

I have a friend who had several Leyland cypresses in his garden, and
they were a good sixty feet. (Estimated.)

He won't be short of firewood for a few years...........

--
Rusty Hinge
No m'lud, it wasn't a sneg. My joints creak.

Leylandii are the scurge of the British garden they should be band. My
father-in-law just had his Leylandii hedge cut down but had to wait until
the next door neighbour died. This HEDGE ??? was 70ft.in height.

"Eric the Red" wrote in message
...
I have recently moved to a house in a typical surburbain area. At the end
of
the garden there are some conifer trees that must be over 30 foot in
height.
With the way that the sun moves throughout the day they do not affect the
light in my garden but one of my neighbours gardens must be in constant
shade. Nothing has been said by the neighbour but I feel I should cut them
down to a more reasonable 15 to 20 foot. I would like to keep some height
as
they obsure the view to a rather ugly building behind the houses.

Am I under any legal/bye law obligation to cut the trees down to a lower
height?.

Due to the dry summer the trees to look abit brown towards the top and
edges. If I cut down at this time of year am I likely to kill off the
trees.

I am planning to build a large shed in front of the trees so I would
rather
do any cutting now so I do not risk damaging the shed at a later date.

Eric.

In article ,
Jaques d'Altrades writes:
| The message
| from "Janice" contains these words:
|
| No, as far as I know there are not yet any laws restricting height of trees.
| Are they leylandii? If so, a tree surgeon told me that you can chop down
| one-third of the height at any one time and the trees will be fine. When
| the trees have recovered in a year or so, then you can take down another
| third of the remaining height. This time of year is perfect to do it. Do
| not cut back into old wood because the tree won't grow back. If the trees
| are 30 feet high I would imagine you'd need a professional tree surgeon to
| do the work -- it's a dangerous business!!
|
| Dangerous? How far can you fall into a Leyland cypress? Just cut from
| the top down so you can't fall on any sharp bits.

Well, you can climb up a ladder and bounce off the outside, landing
with a thump or perhaps on something sharp.

You can also have the bit you cut off fall onto you like a hammer,
possibly using a branch as an anvil.

| And don't try removing the bottom third first unless you have a good
| supply of skyhooks.

A good general rule, I agree.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Thanks to all for the replies.

From what I can find out on the net the trees are Leylandii.

It looks like they are not at their fully grown state yet so are likely to
cause a problems in the future I will investigate the the cost of cutting
back and possible removal.

The trunks at the base must be 10 inches in diameter. Is there any use for
the wood it if was cut properly and dried out ? Or is it just good for
firewood.

Eric.
"Eric the Red" wrote in message
...
I have recently moved to a house in a typical surburbain area. At the end
of
the garden there are some conifer trees that must be over 30 foot in
height.
With the way that the sun moves throughout the day they do not affect the
light in my garden but one of my neighbours gardens must be in constant
shade. Nothing has been said by the neighbour but I feel I should cut them
down to a more reasonable 15 to 20 foot. I would like to keep some height
as
they obsure the view to a rather ugly building behind the houses.

Am I under any legal/bye law obligation to cut the trees down to a lower
height?.

Due to the dry summer the trees to look abit brown towards the top and
edges. If I cut down at this time of year am I likely to kill off the
trees.

I am planning to build a large shed in front of the trees so I would
rather
do any cutting now so I do not risk damaging the shed at a later date.

Eric.

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:

| Dangerous? How far can you fall into a Leyland cypress? Just cut from
| the top down so you can't fall on any sharp bits.

Well, you can climb up a ladder and bounce off the outside, landing
with a thump or perhaps on something sharp.

I have a short-ish bit of hedge fashioned from truncated Leyland
cypresses. Having truncated them further, I now can clip the sides with
shears. And, to get to the top, I disappear inside and climb the
trunks..

You can also have the bit you cut off fall onto you like a hammer,
possibly using a branch as an anvil.

You have to be *VERY* careless to let that happen. Anyone who could do
that might get some sense knocked into them.

| And don't try removing the bottom third first unless you have a good
| supply of skyhooks.

A good general rule, I agree.

Yes, cloudclamps aren't up to the job.

--
Rusty Hinge
No m'lud, it wasn't a sneg. My joints creak.

The message
from "Eric the Red" contains these words:

The trunks at the base must be 10 inches in diameter. Is there any use for
the wood it if was cut properly and dried out ? Or is it just good for
firewood.

It is quite dense and turns well. Nice for woodcarving too. *BUT* the
resin is a naughty word to remove from your hands - or anywhere else,
for that matter.

In my experience it burns nicely without spitting.

--
Rusty Hinge
No m'lud, it wasn't a sneg. My joints creak.