Leyladii cut down

[sargan]

Had a company in and removed around 50m run of Leyladii, stumps ground out ... and then significant job digging a new trench, importing soil and planting a Cotoneaster franchetii hedge - much more manageable than overgrown Leyandii.

 

Now 2 yrs on,  have a parallel 2nd row of Leylandii... I want to thin out, eventually all will go, once new hedge thickens up (it’s growing well) ..initially left in to provide cover while new hedge establishes.

 

Have done chainsaw work before where it has been lopping branches or dropping medium size trees into an open fall area, or cutting logs for firewood.

 

Want to thin out Leylandii ... take out roughly every 3rd one, and cut off 1/2 any which have diverged into 2 trunks.

 

Been trying usual 3 cut approach, but they don’t fall in intended direction, typically the tops catch with adjacent tops and ends up hanging, or with a hinge effect and ultimately base pivots wrong way.

 

These are not massively thick trees, 6 - 8” diameter ... approx 25’ - 30’ tall, but close packed as Leyladii usually are.

They are on top of a steep bank, so want to just drop them down into bank ... no need to remove.

What would be best approach .... should I use ladder or trestles to remove top 50% first ... too small a diam and too tightly packed for me to climb.

Advice from Google seems to be spear-cut them, then cut remining trunk to ground.

 

Any tips on how to make spear-cut fall where you want .... each I tried ... dropped as a spear to ground .. but then hang or fall away from the mass of Leyladii .. towards new hedge .... hence wondering if I need to cut in segments first.

 

I know I could give it to professionals, but this is a slow bit by bit thinning out, that I want to DIY as and when I want.

 

 

[jfc]

There's usually no easy way to deal with hedge like that. A pull rope and second person to pull the tops out helps. Otherwise just get stuck in and battle through it. Photos may help people advise. Have fun! Jan.

[woody paul]

If tangled like you say no point in tring to fell unless you rope them with second person or machine you pull would be better then you could pull them free first before felling. 

[peds]

36 minutes ago, jfc said:

There's usually no easy way to deal with hedge like that. A pull rope and second person to pull the tops out helps. Otherwise just get stuck in and battle through it. Photos may help people advise. Have fun! Jan.

If there is a suitable anchor in the right place (ie, direction of fell...), then using a pulley and progress capture system, and ideally a 3-1 (easy to set up even for the uninitiated) or even a 5-1 (slightly trickier), you could dispense with a second person altogether, provided your rope was long enough to get back to you.

[woody paul]

2 hours ago, peds said:

If there is a suitable anchor in the right place (ie, direction of fell...), then using a pulley and progress capture system, and ideally a 3-1 (easy to set up even for the uninitiated) or even a 5-1 (slightly trickier), you could dispense with a second person altogether, provided your rope was long enough to get back to you.

You forgot to say tie end of rope around your waist so as you run away tree is pulled. 

[peds]

31 minutes ago, woody paul said:

You forgot to say tie end of rope around your waist so as you run away tree is pulled. 

Best tie on to an ankle as well with a prusik or butterfly, then there's redundancy in the system.

[struie]

4 hours ago, sargan said:

Had a company in and removed around 50m run of Leyladii, stumps ground out ... and then significant job digging a new trench, importing soil and planting a Cotoneaster franchetii hedge - much more manageable than overgrown Leyandii.

 

Now 2 yrs on,  have a parallel 2nd row of Leylandii... I want to thin out, eventually all will go, once new hedge thickens up (it’s growing well) ..initially left in to provide cover while new hedge establishes.

 

Have done chainsaw work before where it has been lopping branches or dropping medium size trees into an open fall area, or cutting logs for firewood.

 

Want to thin out Leylandii ... take out roughly every 3rd one, and cut off 1/2 any which have diverged into 2 trunks.

 

Been trying usual 3 cut approach, but they don’t fall in intended direction, typically the tops catch with adjacent tops and ends up hanging, or with a hinge effect and ultimately base pivots wrong way.

 

These are not massively thick trees, 6 - 8” diameter ... approx 25’ - 30’ tall, but close packed as Leyladii usually are.

They are on top of a steep bank, so want to just drop them down into bank ... no need to remove.

What would be best approach .... should I use ladder or trestles to remove top 50% first ... too small a diam and too tightly packed for me to climb.

Advice from Google seems to be spear-cut them, then cut remining trunk to ground.

 

Any tips on how to make spear-cut fall where you want .... each I tried ... dropped as a spear to ground .. but then hang or fall away from the mass of Leyladii .. towards new hedge .... hence wondering if I need to cut in segments first.

 

I know I could give it to professionals, but this is a slow bit by bit thinning out, that I want to DIY as and when I want.

 

 

gallon o petrol,n a match.

[sargan]

I’ll not take up that suggestion.   ?