The Importance of Regular Maintenance on Leylandii Hedgerows

This Leylandii hedge in Edinburgh is a pretty standard example of what we have to deal with on an almost daily basis at certain times of the year. This particular job however gives a unique insight into the difference regular maintenance of a Leylandii hedge can make. The section of the hedge to the right of the picture belongs to the neighbouring property who happens to be a regular customer of Thomson Trees hedge maintenance services. As you can see from the image above, the sides and top of the neighbour’s hedge have been regularly maintained and now form a compact and dense hedge.

The section of hedging on the left-hand side had grown to a height of approximately 10m high and a staggering 7m deep, which in a relatively small garden, added up to quite a sizeable piece of land to lose. The ultimate goal was to match the overgrown hedge as closely as possible with the well-kept neighbouring hedge.

Reducing the Width of Overgrown Leylandii Hedges

In most cases, Leylandii can be quite forgiving when it comes to reducing their height. In fact, we have reduced Leylandii hedges by as much as 50% in the past with no ill-effect. The sides however require a bit more care. Leylandii conifer hedges are unable to grow fresh shoots from bare wood, so the cutting back of any branches beyond the greenery will ultimately result in the branch dying and leaving a bare patch in the hedge. As such, with the best will in the world, it simply was not possible to match the hedges. Although the top was reduced to the same height, there will always be an awkward ‘kink’ where the garden boundary is on the frontage of the hedge. This could have been avoided with a yearly trimming regime.

How hard to cut back Leylandii hedges?

That in itself is a skill and requires a steady but firm hand. Simply waving the hedge cutter over the new growth isn’t going to do the required job. Such haphazard cutting will at best result in a trim that is an inch or 2 beyond the previous growth. Consider the results of adding this much growth once or even twice a year, perhaps on both sides of a hedge, and you can soon see how a hedge can become overgrown, even with some ‘maintenance’.

Instead, when cutting Leylandii it is important to make the cuts right back to the previous cut. On a regularly maintained hedge, this becomes easier overtime, with each subsequent trim creating an ever more compact surface. Eventually your hedge trimming will almost be able to rest against this wall of green whilst cutting.

How often should I trim my Leylandii hedge?

If you are looking to establish a well-formed decorative hedge from Leylandii, we recommend trimming a minimum of once a year. A second trim could be considered for decorative or hedgerow topiary.

Trimming a hedgerow bi-annually will never form a really dense hedge but in some cases could be considered adequate for a boundary screening hedge. It is important with any bi-annual trims to cut right back to the previous growth as mentioned previously. Failure to do this will quickly result in an overly wide hedge which will become a large task to maintain, and in some cases even prohibitively expensive to do so. This example of a recent job in Biggar demonstrates what a big job Leylandii tree removal can be.