By Jeaneggett
East Yorkshire ,
United Kingdom 
Re: Lleylandii Trees
I have 5 of these trees which were 8 ft. tall at the bottom of the garden next to a neighbour's concrete 5 ft. fence. I am in the process of taking them down, having chopped off most of the narrower branches, leaving stumps of about 5 feet on each tree. They are going to be cut out eventually when I have a wooden trellis fence erected. However, the problem is that there appears to be lots of strong tendrils/roots/suckers buried well into the ground along the whole length of the trees which are difficult to remove, although I have cut back each of them as far as possible. Maybe they are not roots from the conifers as there has also been a type of honeysuckle growing amongst the trees for the last 15 years, really climbing and has always been difficult to remove from the conifer branches. Any thoughts anyone out there?
20 Oct, 2013
Answers
Cutting the leylandii down to 5ft keeps you on the right side of the hideous hedges law, so well done on that. As to the roots, you might need to locate the honeysuckle roots close to the main stem and trace back a way to make sure that what you're chopping is leylandii and not h/s. But the stumps will give great support for the h/s - and no branches for it to get tangled in.
20 Oct, 2013
In response to the two answers:
I hope to have a new trellis fence erected next to the neighbour's concrete wall this autumn, at which time the stumps will be coming out as I need to plant some climbers, ferns, flowers, etc. for the shady spot which will be about 5 ft. x 18 ft. I still do not know if these tendrils/roots are honeysuckle (I did not plant it) or are growths from the conifer rootballs. Do not want the fence erectors to dig too far down when they dig out the stumps as this may cause the 5 ft. wall to subside. The honeysuckle roots are all around the base of the concrete fence, my side and the neighbour's, so cannot dig too far around the conifer trunks. They seem to be clinging onto and into the earth. Don't think I am doing the job twice as suggested - just needed to cut down as much foliage and as many branches as possible before the fence erectors begin. And it was so therapeutic! Many thanks for the 2 answers.
20 Oct, 2013
If the stumps are going to be cut out then I suggest waiting until then when you can tackle the whole job as one. If that's spring, then watch for any new growth and treat it when it emerges. With respect, it seems to me that you're making work for yourself, doing the job twice, as it were.
20 Oct, 2013