leylandii hedge issue

[david wood]

Hi All,

 

Looking for some advice please on what may be a stupid idea on my part.

 

My mother has a well established leylandii hedge. planted around 1988, topped repeatedly over the time. Cut every year but as happens its gotten large...

 

somewhere around 8 - 10 foot wide on the top, around 8 feet high so not massive but a pain.

 

Where she lives is very exposed and windy on hill so a decent hedge is needed but this one is getting to be a hassle.

 

Wondering about replanting with beech, however dont want to expose the site as wind is unreal at times.

 

i thought about taking inside face off to trunks which would give me space to come back 2 - 3 feet from trunks and plant in young beech plants but yet retain shelter of half the outer face of hedge.

 

questions are,

 

is this a stupid idea?

 

is beech likelly to cope with site?

 

any better suggestions?

 

Cant grind/rip out stumps as theres septic tank close by, access isnt great to say least and being a little tight.

 

Have kit, skills etc to safetly do all work its just the idea. was thinking of removal of hedge inner in next two weeks, water like mad, spread some fertiliser etc and put beech in spring.

 

So what does everyone think?

[Beardie]

I suspect the watering and fertilizing would be to counteract the competition from the established leylandii. Not convinced it'll work, in fact good luck digging the planting holes in all that root.

 

Anyway, what makes you think the beech will be any easier to manage once established? Remember the world's tallest hedge is a beech.

[david wood]

wasnt too sure about watering/feeding but thought soil would be poor so couldnt hurt.

 

we have a lot of beech at work and controling it is much easier, can take sides or tops off and it just regenerates so figured easier.

[daltontrees]

The ground under the leylandii might be acidified and a bit toxic, the beech might struggle for various reasons. Competition for light, water, nutrients, space, rooting.

[TTP]

Beech will be great in the summer as a wind barrier but in winter when the wind is generally more severe they have no leaves on to create the barrier

[Old Mill Tree Care]

Beech will be great in the summer as a wind barrier but in winter when the wind is generally more severe they have no leaves on to create the barrier

 

 

The leaves are not required to create a wind break. The trunks, branches and shoots aid to disrupt the flow of the wind perfectly.

 

I would fell and stump grind, around pipes etc, then plant Beech.

[peatff]

Beech will be great in the summer as a wind barrier but in winter when the wind is generally more severe they have no leaves on to create the barrier

 

Beech does keep a lot of it's dead leaves till the new shoots force them to drop. We used to have a lot of them on old schools when I worked on gardens and I liked them much more than Privet which would be an alternative here or Hawthorn which made a good dense hedge if planted properly but a bit too painful for my liking.

[Beardie]

 

I would fell and stump grind, around pipes etc, then plant Beech.

 

According to the OP, he wants to maintain a continuity of windbreak, hence planting the beech before felling the leylandii.

[david wood]

yep ideally i want to use the remaining half of hedge to shelter new hedge and house for a few years.

[monkeybusiness]

We've had a lot of success planting hornbeam hedges as conifer replacements - looks very similar to beech, grows to a decent size pretty quickly, and seems to do well in poor ground.