Hi, I recently purchased a home in an area near Victoria where neighbors are engaged in "tree wars" because of fast-growing Lelandii cypress trees. (They call them cedars but the arborists agree they are Lelandii.) Unfortunately, that is all that the arborists seem to agree on. The neighbors each have their own arborist who argue either 1) the trees should not be cut at all because it will harm them, 2) they should be "windowed" (to solve the view problem for some neighbors but not all), or 3) they should be topped to an appropriate height every 2-3 years. So, who to believe? We went ahead and topped our trees back into the hedge that they had originally been planted to be. This solved the problem for the neighbors above us but we wonder whether we have done permanent damage to them. We want them to remain healthy since they are an important privacy screen for our property. Also, other neighbors say that topping allows the water to enter the trunk of the tree and cause decay which eventually kills the tree. Their arborist feels that "windowing" is less damaging. Others say that "windowing" causes more damage (not less) and should not be done. Could we please get advice and find out if there is really any research to suggest which method is preferable? Thanks.
They are pretty bullet proof. Now that you have topped them keep the sides under control with out cutting in too deep. Hedge trim. Cypress of any kind don't regenerate when whole branches are removed but they do respond to clipping. Up the road the Lelandii are regularly trimmed by cattle nibbling on them through a fence. it is beautiful. We also have electricity line trimming people who every year trim another hedge out, close by, to miss the lines. So now it is a sort of "L' shaped but looks fine. Around here they are used as wind breaks very successfully but that is in a larger area. I have two up the paddock but would not use them in my garden. I have seen others down in suburbia that seem to be slimmer and create a nice compact hedge. But having said all that maybe your wather may make them react differently. We are hot summer and cool mild winters.
I think these trees have generated tree wars in Britain that have landed people in jail. I'm currently in a tree war myself, and while it's not about a view nor about a Leyland, I do know how angry and victimized it can make a person feel. I would suggest that if you have trees that already upset the neighbours and require vigilance from you to stay under control, why not make a succession plan? Would a screen of yews or something slower growing do the trick for you? Can you plant it and let it grow to a reasonable size and then cut the Leylands, or replace every second one now and the rest after a couple of years, so that you are never in a completely bare state? The thing is that you may stay vigilant with the trimming, but if you sell, the next owners may not.
Re: Tree Pruning - Best Practices It's correct to say that any pruning harms trees - it wounds them and removes valuable resources from them. However, taking the attitude that trees should never be pruned because of this harm is unrealistic in an urban setting. Arboriculture is about balancing the needs of trees with the needs of people and the built environment. Leylandii is a fast growing species that has something of a reputation for causing misery and neighbour hatred where I am in the UK. Leylandii hedges need managing responsibly. The usual answer with hedges is regular 'topping'. Topping is generally an appalling practice to be avoided at all cost. But it is the only sensible way to manage a leylandii hedge. It needs to be done regularly, and to keep the hedge in sensible proportion some siding up should accompany it, but don't cut back beyond the current live growth or the foliage will not return. Topping a hedge will leave exposed wounds at the top, but this is unlikely to result in the death of the hedge. The suburbs of Britain are full of such hedges and most look fine (there are problems, but not related to topping - there is some evidence that pruning in October is correlated to die back, but why no one knows). Hope that helps Find tree care help at tree-care.info
