Laurel or Leylandii?

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Laurel or Leylandii?
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Which to plant as a perimeter hedge?

Laurel

13%

[ 3 ]

Leylandii

[ 0 ]

Other

86%

[ 19 ]

Total Votes : 22

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Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 12:46 pm Post subject: Laurel or Leylandii?

I hope to plant a hedge along the back of our property for privacy and to keep some of the north wind off the plot. It is very open at present. I'm looking at a laurel hedge or a row of leylandi which will eventually form a hedge. Both are popular around here. I'm wondering which is going to be the lowest maintenance once established. I'm not into clipping hedges every two weeks.

All advice welcome and while were on let's have a poll.

Last edited by Blue Sky on Mon Mar 23, 09 1:04 pm; edited 1 time in total

Barefoot Andrew
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 21 Mar 2007
Posts: 22780
Location: In the 17th century

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 12:49 pm Post subject:
The obvious problem with the Leylandi is that they become quite a job to keep neat when they grow to 20 feet high, which takes about five minutes. A.

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 12:51 pm Post subject:
Yeah, I would plan on topping them when they got to about 2 metres.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 12:59 pm Post subject:

Neither are what I would call low maintenance, both need trimming at least 3 times/year.
Leylandii do make great hedges, but only if you trim them regularly.
Once they've bolted you can never get them back as good as they were.
It is one of those things, if you want a quick hedge you need to trim it a lot, or if you don't want to keep trimming it, then you need the patience for something slow to grow.
I fancied experimenting with a gooseberry hedge.

alice

Joined: 18 Feb 2006
Posts: 2820

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 1:27 pm Post subject:
I'd choose laurel over leylandii - but I'd go for beech myself if I wanted a single species hedge. Much more interesting than laurel.

Barefoot Andrew
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 21 Mar 2007
Posts: 22780
Location: In the 17th century

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 1:29 pm Post subject:

Hairyloon wrote:

I fancied experimenting with a gooseberry hedge.

Make your green landscaping earn its keep! I don't suppose the Romans shaded their pergolas with vines just to be decorative

earthyvirgo

Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 7972
Location: creating prints in the loft, Gerlan

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 1:55 pm Post subject:

Anything other than leylandii, which sucks all the goodness from the surrounding ground.

I was going to suggest beech too. Attractive all year round, good zingy green in spring and fantastic autumn colour.

Holly? Not only attractive but a good burglar deterrent!

Another thorny one is Berberis which can also be grown into a decent hedge even though I've only ever grown it up a wall --- comes in various berry colours and has orange flowers and good autumn colour before the leaves drop (if you get a deciduous one) , it's quite a fast grower. Birds love the berries which apparently humans can eat too but you'd need thorn-proof gloves and a lot of patience to pick them

pricey

Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Posts: 6444

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 2:15 pm Post subject:

Simon wrote:

Yeah, I would plan on topping them when they got to about 2 metres.

come on we all know you will forget, look at the other monsters you have in the garden

Go for Bay/laurel or something else edible.

Ginkotree

Joined: 26 Jun 2008
Posts: 2956
Location: south west wales

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 2:27 pm Post subject:
Nothing grows under leylandi and the root balls are huge and when you try to burn it to get rid of it the sap sends flames shooting up really high, watched my neighbour have trouble and he called in someone with a tractor to help in the end. they are not popular trees around here. Beech and holly are great if you only want decorative plants, the birds like them which will help with bugs later.

mbeirnes

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 100

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 2:51 pm Post subject:

I chose other, I would look at Native plants in a mixed hedge, Haw and Blackthorn (for berries), Holly and Bay for some greenery, Witch hazel, Birch and Beech, Cob nuts etc.

With wind you don’t want to block it as you create a funnel effect and actually make it faster, you are looking to slow it down or break it. Also if it is really bad the two you mentioned probably would look a bit shabby as they would get bashed and burnt in the wind?

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9717
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 3:08 pm Post subject:
anythign but leylandii but yeh i agree with others here - a mix - including evergreens such as holly and bay

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 3:10 pm Post subject:
I'd go for 'other'. If you're going to have a hedge, why not plant interesting things that'll give you fruit? Makes for a more interesting habitat, a more interesting diet, and a more interesting hedge. Ain't going to be that much more work, if any (you still have to cut laurel too!).

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 5:03 pm Post subject:
Both are poisonous, which might make a difference. Would you consider a few rows of quick growing trees which you could then coppice one row of yearly, and still maintain the windbreak, say hornbeam? If its evergreen you want holly makes quite a thick hedge....

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 5:17 pm Post subject:

earthyvirgo wrote:

Anything other than leylandii, which sucks all the goodness from the surrounding ground.

Yet another reason to stay on top of them and not let them grow too big. Laurel is not much better, but at least it feeds the bees and birds. Though maybe not as a hedge come to think of it.

Quote:

Another thorny one is Berberis which can also be grown into a decent hedge...

Berberis is pure evil. I charge triple rate if the job involves berberis. It is just nasty.

LynneA

Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 4893
Location: London N21

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 09 6:35 pm Post subject:
What about Blackthorn? Evil thorns, lovely blossom and sloe berries to put in gin. Or if you want a non-thorny hedge, Photinia. Boring and green most of the time, but the new leaves are red.

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