hedge is approx 10 feet high and approx 25 years old. it started going brown about 3 months ago, slowly all green turning brown.
Diseases in cypress are usually blights, cankers or root rots. Check the stems and branches for cankers. Are the needles dropping too? You may have a blight. See the article below for more information.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/leyland-cypress/leyland-cypress-diseases.htm
I have a couple of leylandii trees which I use as screening. They are approximately 8 ft tall and 4 years old. I have trimmed them each year and they are now the typical pyramid shape. My question is if I trim off the lower branches completely to a standard tree shape will the remaining upper branches continue to grow upwards with the trunk over the fence line so I no longer have screening? My intention would be to keep the hedge at around 8ft with yearly trimming.
These trees will enjoy a yearly pruning! They handle frequent trimming and will benefit from it. As long as you maintain the structure, it will continue to fill out. Letting large, bare trunks form will make it less able to be pruned. Cutting into branches with bare bark will leave bare spots that will not fill out.
These articles will help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/leyland-cypress/pruning-leyland-cypress.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/shgen/care-of-landscape-hedges.htm
Hello I hope you can help? We have just moved into a house with a 3m leylandii hedge on both sides of our garden (10sqm)...we’re desperate to replace it (as they’re very overpowering and I feel claustrophobic) but we have a high water table (50cm below ground) and are concerned that it will affect our drainage (field drains) if don’t replace with something that soaks up as much water. We have a lovely view out the back of our garden into an open field so not keen on a large tree like a willow. Would really appreciate any suggestions on what to replace hedges with and when/how (i.e. in stages)? Kind Regards Melanie Hayden
The quick way will be to use an excavator! That can get quite expensive.
If you don't have access to this, then a chainsaw will be the next best thing. You can let the roots die over time, or you can help them along with stump removing chemicals.
Here are some articles that will help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/tree-stump-removal.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/projects/removing-existing-plants.htm
I don't think that removing them will affect the soil too badly. There appears to be a lower area for water to gather, nearby.
As far as what to plant- Your area is most similar to our USDA zone 9. You have a very wide range of options available to you. These articles will help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/gardening-by-zone/zone-9-10-11/plants-zones-9-11.htm
If cut down from bottom they will hit the house. Also access to the yard is limited by a 4 foot wide gate on brick columns. Do you know of any equipment that might be able to get through the gate i.e. a small crane?
I suggest you contact a certified arborist for help with this project and, perhaps, an equipment leasing company who could advise you about what will work. Perhaps this article will provide some tips: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/moving-mature-trees.htm
Wright I have had a tree specialist to oversee the trees and he recommended a fungus spray and that I could purchase it on Amazon, but reading through most of what Amazon have to sell I cannot find anything that has the ingredients necessary for Rhizaphaera . Thank you
We do not recommend specific products or places to purchase them, unfortunately. An internet search for the specific chemcial, chlorothalonil, or copper fungicides. There will be many results.
This article will help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/needle-cast-in-trees.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/what-is-copper-fungicide.htm
What time of the year is best to trim and top (mature 5 year old) Leyland Cypress trees?
This should help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/leyland-cypress/pruning-leyland-cypress.htm
Hello! our neighbors' 3 LC Trees encroach badly into our property. 5-10', conservatively, and shadow our grass. OUR LAWN goes downhill towards the trees, which are over 20 feet high, and hanging over community sidewalks to the rear of our homes. They won't trim them. I trimmed them lightly last year--my wife doesn't like to see THEIR back yard, so I couldn't do more! What do I need, besides a pruning saw, to trim them more skillfully? They are a nuisance, but I don't want to be out of pocket to have them trimmed--again, they're not our trees. We get along w/ these neighbors, don't want to make a big deal of it...but our HOA tells us it's our responsibility to trim growth on our side. Any ideas? I could only reach about 8-10' high when I pruned them last year...didn't do a bad job, but the higher branches will increasingly encroach and make the already messy trees look worse. Our neighbor claims the trees have to be pruned professionally, and she won't do it. Can't provide a photo now...apologies
This article should help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/leyland-cypress/pruning-leyland-cypress.htm