What is the best way to lop 15ft Laylandi???

[evelyn]

Next door planted 13!! of the horrid things along the boundry line about 8 years ago and despite prommising to keep them under controle they are now 15ft, this is not the tallest they have been, i secured a cort order 4 years ago when they had made 22ft, and a year later they cut them down to about 8ft, but they didnt maintain them and now they are back up to about 15ft.

They have very kindly agreed to having the trees cut down to 6ft so long as I do it, and remove the felled bit's, dont want much do they!? now you may say dose it matter so long as the darn things get cut, but if you take into acount that the neighbour has two son's my age (mid thirtys) living at home, and i have a spine that resembles cottag chease it's not souch a grate deal .

So i am asking how do i do this with out putting myself in hospital? is ther a tecneque that will make the job easyer? or, beeing a bit cheeky now, do any of you have any cutting geer i could borrow for a weekend? and, although i dont know if this sort of wood is any good for stove's, there will be lots of it going FREE all you have to do is come pick it up, i will trim it for you.

I am in South Manchester.

Eve

[Graye]

Our garden in France is surrounded with these and some of them are 60 feet tall. We have "dealt with" about 30 yards of them, cutting them back to 12 feet (it's a huge garden so they look fine at this height) and it isn't an easy job. We have half an acre so I estimate it will take years to get them all under some sort of control. I understand they have been growing for 20 years without any pruning. You need ladders, ropes, a particular sort of saw (don't even think about using a chainsaw from a ladder), gloves, hats, etc, etc. Also you need someone to help you - it's not a one man (or woman) job. The logs are not much use for woodburners etc, either as they give out far too much tar.

However, personally I wouldn't try doing it yourself. These are not your trees and these people should keep them under control themselves - and pay for it. What if you hurt yourself? What if they deny they gave you permission and sue you for damaging their trees? What will happen next time they grow too big - will you want to be doing this in years to come?

[evelyn]

Thankfully when the neighbour said i could cut them down i had my local councillor with me so i feel safe to go agead in that respect, as for getting some help, there isn't any, i have two teenage daughters living at home one is some where under a pile of bed clothes and will not surfice unless i pay her and the other one dosent do out door's unless her friends are involved. So it is up to me.

I think i will start with one and see how it gose, i dont really want to go back to cort as i have to live next to these people.

I wish you good luck with your mini forest, at least i only have to deal with 13 of the horrid things.

Eve

[snapdragon]

best way to my way of thinking is cut them six inches from the ground,
but it does seem like you need help - could you ask around your friends/family? or offer a bonfire party to your daughters and friends if they come and help?
I'd think it needs a chain saw,
Any 'helping hands' groups in the local paper? Scouts? Guides?
I would start by cutting away all the greenery (thus seeing the wood for the trees!) and then saw through the trunks. I am horrified that two grown men appear incapable of doing the job - they should be so thouroughly ashamed of themselves

[evelyn]

Yes i agree it is rather shameful that two grown men can't get off there bum's to do this, they afterall did plant the vile things, but there thinking is that they work all week so need to spent the weekend sitting in front of the T.V.

Friends and family are a non starter, brother is married to gengis carn, Dad is very ill and friends are either pregnant, looking after little ones at work or just dont want to help.

It is a shame there is not ish big job section that people can trde help, for instance i would go and help someone local with a big job in return for them helping me.

It seems like a good idea to me atleast.

Eve

[Graye]

And your local councillor agreed to this? Is this what he considers a reasonable solution to the situation? What a wimp!

Actually I don't think you have to go to court anymore and he should know the solution himself. Perhaps he could be referred to the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 whereby local authorities can decide if a hedge is over 2m tall and stopping someone's reasonable enjoyment of their home or garden. Where necessary, the local authority can serve a remedial notice to the hedge owner to identify what they must do to sort the problem out. If they fail to comply with the notice, they could be fined up to £1,000. People complaining about high hedges will have to show they have tried to resolve the matter with the hedge owner; which you have done and your councillor can support you on that. You will also have to pay a fee, set by the local council, for your complaint to be investigated. Perhaps pointing this out to the neighbours might persuade them to get their sons off their backsides.

These things can grow up to SIX FEET every year so you are likely to be doing this on an ongoing basis. If you really feel you have no option but to do it yourself please don't go up a ladder with a chainsaw. If you have a high stepladder (and someone to hold it for you) you may be able to chop the tops out with one of those extending loppers but they aren't cheap. The branches shouldn't be too thick if they were pruned back quite recently and the loppers will go through them pretty easily once you get the knack of working them. It's easy to overbalance because of the pressure you need though so you really would have to have someone to assist.

[MKG]

Don't even think about it. 15 feet may not seem too high, but even a three-foot section of main trunk could do a great deal of damage if it hinged down and trapped your leg or arm. You need to be fit to do this kind of thing and, most importantly, you need to know exactly what you're doing. Falling branches and trunks do seem to have minds of their own, as do ladders on soft ground.

So, my advice is don't go anywhere near it. It's your neighbours' problem, and you've asked them nicely (in front of a pretty good witness) to do something about it. There are usually local regulations on hedge height - and this thing is just a hedge which has got out of control. Get your council to act, and if they fail, send a solicitor's letter or two. I appreciate the "I have to live next door to them" argument, but that should apply both ways.

[evelyn]

Just thought i would give you all an up date.

Supprisingly my daughter decided the outdoors isnt as bad as she thought and so decided to come and help, YAY! and hats off to her she has been very helpfull

On my side i have stripped the trunk's and cut off all the bits i could reach easaly, i don't do ladders, EVER! so the trees will end up being about 5 n a 1/2ft tall.

It is tough going but no where as bad as i thought it was going to be, although i havent got round to cutting the trunks yet, but providing i cut off as many of the branches first so there isnt to much wait to deal with i think i will get it done in a few days.

I understand what your saying about ther responcibility and all but some times it is just easyer to role your sleves up and get on with it, and this way i get the hedge at the hight i want it.

Thank you all for your very usefull advice.

What do you think of my idea for ish big job swap?

Eve

[snapdragon]

Good to hear that kids are surprising sometimes - I'm so glad your daughter joined in

What do you think of my idea for ish big job swap?

Now that would be great if we weren't spread all over the world, and widely spread in the UK and Ireland too, maybe with a year's notice ?

[pumpy]

Hi,Evelyn. Glad to see you are making some progress with this problem. Legally, you are entitled to prune whatever is on your property. Also,legally,you must return the prunings to your neighbours,as they are their property.As Graye says,do not attempt to prune anything on their side. Legally,you are not entitled to do so. There is no law relating to "loss of daylight", but there is a grey area ,covering spoilt views, (governed by some sort of time-scale). You didn't hear this from me........but a few copper nails aimed strategically (with a suitable hammer), into the tree roots, might slow things down a bit.

[StripyPixieSocks]

several syringes of creosote to the roots does wonders... or actually not... I hear you can buy syringes from e-bay... but I wouldn't know anything about that kind of thing ;)

[carolinej]

A man up my street decided to take his down himself.

I was around the corner at the lottie at the time. I heard an almighty bang and really loud crackling. When I went to see what had happened, the tree was through his fence across the road . It had fallen the wrong way, even though they had a rope to pull it.

It had fallen against the electric street cables. The wire had been ripped off several houses, and the whole street was without electricity for ages.

I had to walk around the long way, as there were sparks coming off the wires and I didnt want to get too close.

So, my advice...a professional , every time. At least if he has a disaster, his insurance will pay for the damage.

cj

[growingthings]

Do you have a LETS (Local Exchange Trading Scheme) local to you? It does exactly what you are thinking about. It normally costs about £5 to join, and that is credited to your 'account' so that you have something to start with and then you trade time and expertise rather than money. You can offer anything you feel you are good at, from baby sitting to re-roofing! It's a really practical of getting help to do those things that friends and family are either unable or unwilling to do.

Try
http://www.letslinkuk.net

It could be just what you are looking for.

Lorna x

[evelyn]

Lorna you are a flippin geneious!!

Thanks i will chek it out now.



Eve

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Interesting thing about leylandaii is that if they are topped to - say - 5-and-a-half feet and the greenery is stripped off from the trunk, they die.

If this is what your neighbour has given you leave to do then he may have solved the problem for you, in the longer term.

I discovered this because I am in the process (and it will take me two or three more years because I can only do it in the winter months) of removing 50 of these beauties that were planted on our boundry by a former owner about 40 years ago and have attained their full potential.

A couple I had to cut off at about 6 foot (from a paltform; someone has already mentioned chainsaws and ladders) due to the restricted space. Having stripped of the few remaining branches I left them until I had cleared better access.

They didn't regrow. Not a single shoot.

This might be because they are not well suited to hotter climates. They'll grow enough from saplings but can't regenerate from serious damage. Not sure. Don't care.

So I've started leaving the odd tall stump in place on purpose: they make ideal support of the wild roses and clematis I'm putting in the new woodland boarder.