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?

[GarethM]

It might not rhyme, but I've not got the time to make it rhyme or turn it into some laureate prose 🙂.

 

As I tend to say to customers of firewood, it's dry. 

[NyxTaryn]

5 hours ago, Rushes said:

If you start looking at alternatives that could go there it might be easier to take the decisin to remove it.

Check out a Paulownia - really fast growing would prefer dry but worth a go.

Thank you, I'll look into that. We do get a lot of rain here though, so that might not work too well. And yes, you may be right about looking at replacements making the decision easier. I think if it were just me I would be inclined to remove it after seeing everyone's comments and my own research, but I'm not sure if my partner will feel the same. We'll see.

[NyxTaryn]

6 hours ago, Dan Maynard said:

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.

 

Good to know!

[NyxTaryn]

3 hours ago, peds said:

 

I knocked over a stand of escaped leylandii for someone a couple of years ago (previously topped, multiple new leaders, a windy mess). I offered to process it for him, said wait for four years and it'll be some of the best firewood you'll ever have.

He just left them there on the ground. 

 

Drove by a few months ago, the site had been digger cleared... I saw him, asked what became of the wood. He said the digger driver told him it was pure garbage, he dug a big hole, smashed it all in, leveled the top, walked away.

Pity.

 

He was buying in double-height pallet crates of kiln-dried from eastern Europe. 

Don't worry, whatever we decide the wood won't get wasted! Our wood store is filling up with ash from some diseased trees we had to cut down earlier in the year, but I'm sure we can find space for this too. We'll probably use it outside though, don't want the resin coating the inside of the chimney.

[GarethM]

4 minutes ago, NyxTaryn said:

Don't worry, whatever we decide the wood won't get wasted! Our wood store is filling up with ash from some diseased trees we had to cut down earlier in the year, but I'm sure we can find space for this too. We'll probably use it outside though, don't want the resin coating the inside of the chimney.

Whoever told you that is a liar, or just wanting it for themselves.

 

Providing it's dry it's fine, it's not resin but Creosote from burning wet wood.

[NyxTaryn]

1 minute ago, GarethM said:

Whoever told you that is a liar, or just wanting it for themselves.

 

Providing it's dry it's fine, it's not resin but Creosote from burning wet wood.

Really? I might be misremembering why or got my wires crossed, but I thought you weren't supposed to burn conifer wood inside. If you can, that's great, because we've got plenty of it to go around...

[GarethM]

About 40% of the firewood I sell is conifer.

 

Aslong as you're not huffing it like some weirdo, you can burn it, just make sure it's dry and under 20% moisture.

[Stubby]

4 minutes ago, NyxTaryn said:

Really? I might be misremembering why or got my wires crossed, but I thought you weren't supposed to burn conifer wood inside. If you can, that's great, because we've got plenty of it to go around...

You can and I do . Its a myth . Any wood will tar up a chimney if its wet . Conifer burns just fine as long as its dry/seasoned , same as any wood .  

[NyxTaryn]

3 minutes ago, GarethM said:

About 40% of the firewood I sell is conifer.

 

Aslong as you're not huffing it like some weirdo, you can burn it, just make sure it's dry and under 20% moisture.

Awesome, thank you! That'll help offset some of the cost of the tree work then 😂

[NyxTaryn]

3 minutes ago, Stubby said:

You can and I do . Its a myth . Any wood will tar up a chimney if its wet . Conifer burns just fine as long as its dry/seasoned , same as any wood .  

That's great to know, thank you!