Advice needed - big leylandii badly damaged by storm

[NyxTaryn]

Hello everyone! So unfortunately, the biggest tree in our garden suffered a bit of damage in the last storm/snow and has now suffered a lot more damage in the most recent storm (we're in a red alert area). We're getting some arborists/tree surgeons out to look at it and give us some quotes, but I thought I would check on here as well and see what people would recommend in this instance. Ideally, we'd like to save the tree and maintain as much of its size as possible, but obviously we don't want to leave it up if it poses a substantial risk to us or our property. (Our house about 20m away from the tree, facing the non-damaged section) We were lucky when this came down that nobody was hurt and there was only minimal damage to the garage roof and a nearby tree. So far, we've had one tree surgeon come out who has suggested we remove the broken sections (obviously), but also reduce the height of the tree by half to decrease the risk of it breaking further in future storms and give it protection from the surrounding shorter trees. I was under the impression topping a conifer tree usually just makes it weaker and uglier, but maybe it's the best option under the circumstances. I...s that something others would recommend here? If not, what would you do instead?

[Peasgood]

From an owner of thousands of these things point of view ,once they start snapping they keep doing it and more frequently. 
Yes you can cut the top off and it will rapidly regrow but this time with multiple new leaders and each with the potential to snap out, this time from higher up so potentially more damaging. 

Remove it and start again, with a new leylandii if you are desperate but there are better choices. 
 

A pic of my carnage this morning. Seen it many times before. 
 

[NyxTaryn]

44 minutes ago, peds said:

I know what you mean, I really do. I think any kind of leylandii or cypress out in the middle of a field, on its own, like you get as specimen trees on big estates, are absolutely stunning. I hate a leylandii hedge, but a big tree can be beautiful.

As soon as you go snipping into it though... you'll be starting a cycle of problems for the tree that you'll find it difficult to keep on top of, especially with that big wound low down.

My advice would be to either keep the tree or don't, but don't go creating new problems by doing half a job.

 

Thanks - yeah that makes sense. And yeah, I totally agree, when they're left to do what they naturally do (i.e. grow really tall and broad and take up space), they're very impressive, but when they're planted in the wrong place or as a hedge, they can just be frustrating and ugly. I'm not used to coniferous tree pruning/care to be honest (hence the questions about reducing the height lol) - I'm used to being able to carefully shorten things without it messing up the entire tree 😂 Anyway, thanks for the advice - we'll have a think and decide what to do.

[Peasgood]

[NyxTaryn]

1 minute ago, Peasgood said:

Oof, those are brutal, I'm sorry. Jealous you have so many trees though! I wonder why they're so prone to snapping like that. Good to know (well not good, but useful) that they tend to keep snapping once they start. Do you have any recommendations for similar trees that are less prone to these issues?

[Peasgood]

Th ones in the pic didn't snap, they just blew over completely and lifted the root plate. I do have one that is either just as big or bigger that has snapped out into the field where I keep my geese and have had many over the years.

They mostly snap out as a result of not being single leaders and the union where they fork becoming a weak point. Once they snap out the weak point is still there and the other fork is very likely to snap out at some point. Very often when there is a strong wind from the opposite direction. If you cut the top off you will create multiple leaders all of which are prone to snapping.

Plant another leyland if you like them that much, there's a good chance it won't snap in your lifetime/ownership.

[NyxTaryn]

1 minute ago, Peasgood said:

Th ones in the pic didn't snap, they just blew over completely and lifted the root plate. I do have one that is either just as big or bigger that has snapped out into the field where I keep my geese and have had many over the years.

They mostly snap out as a result of not being single leaders and the union where they fork becoming a weak point. Once they snap out the weak point is still there and the other fork is very likely to snap out at some point. Very often when there is a strong wind from the opposite direction. If you cut the top off you will create multiple leaders all of which are prone to snapping.

Plant another leyland if you like them that much, there's a good chance it won't snap in your lifetime/ownership.

Ah, that makes sense. I guess if they're very tall then there's a higher chance of them pulling out of the ground like that too. Thanks for the advice!

[Stere]

Worse thing is leylandi  don't sprout from the brown woody bits unlike many other tree species-   if trimmed or damaged past the green bits so if your damaged tree will be bare &  ugly from now on.

 

Best just fell it completely

 

Its  also why  they aren't a  good species for hedges as to avoid them going bare/ugly everytime they are trimmed they can only be done lightly so they graudually get slightly wider until you end up with a hedge 6m across the top.

 

Saturated wet  ground wind 80- 90mph gusts for 3hrs and not the normal prevaling direction loads of tree blown down in Darragh esp shallow rooted conifers.

 

Bet some skita plantations have being pancaked.....

 

 

[NyxTaryn]

14 minutes ago, Stere said:

Worse thing is leylandi  don't sprout from the brown woody bits unlike many other tree species-   if trimmed or damaged past the green bits so if your damaged tree will be bare &  ugly from now on.

 

Best just fell it completely

 

Its  also why  they aren't a  good species for hedges as to avoid them going bare/ugly everytime they are trimmed they can only be done lightly so they graudually get slightly wider until you end up with a hedge 6m across the top.

 

Saturated wet  ground wind 80- 90mph gusts for 3hrs and not the normal prevaling direction loads of tree blown down in Darragh esp shallow rooted conifers.

 

Bet some skita plantations have being pancaked.....

 

 

Yeah, we also have some conifer hedges (not our choice, we only moved in 6 months ago). They're some sort of cypress, but not sure which kind) and I definitely wouldn't have chosen those for that reason, they're such a pain to keep a manageable size without making them look awful. We also removed a much smaller conifer at the front of the property because the previous owners killed all the green bits on one side trying to burn out a wasp nest 🤦

 

Yeah the tree surgeons around here (I'm in Wales) have definitely been busy after the storm. There are so many downed trees blocking the roads and things near us, let alone how many there must be in gardens.

 

Are sikta's quite shallow rooted? We have a few of those too I believe, though not near the house.

[Dan Maynard]

7 hours ago, Stere said:

everytime they are trimmed they can only be done lightly so they graudually get slightly wider until you end up with a hedge 6m across the top

That doesn't absolutely have to be the case, if you do them properly twice a year every year they end up like carpet. Missing trims is the problem, then you can't wind back like you say.

 

[slack ma girdle]

What ever you do to the tree other than cut it down, is going to result in an ugly misshapen tree that you will have to look at every day, and increase the chances of failure in the future.

Get rid, and start again