Aaaaaagh! My poor trees!

[SarzWix]

The tree surgeons have turned up today (been waiting 2 months for 'em). I have leylandii in the back garden, L-shaped down the left hand side & along the bottom. They're really tall (at least 20ft) and completely mask the fact that I'm surrounded by houses. Now, before any of you go off on one about Leylandii, I have an excellent rapport with the neighbours affected by the trees and always ask if they're causing a problem - up to press everyone has been happy with them & the birds adore them. But, after Christmas my next door neighbour asked if they could be brought down a bit when they got their hair-cut so he could get more light in his greenhouse. Fair enough, I asked the tree-surgeon to take half off the left-hand trees & the usual third off the back ones.
So, today 2 blokes arrive, no boss, with all the machinery. We had a chat about what they were doing, they moaned on about boss expecting a days work in half a day and then set to. I was sitting here, not looking what they're up to, when Pa arrived to see how it was going. Walked out into the back garden and nearly fell over with shock... They've chopped off more than half of the back row of trees, & the house behind is in full view

I hate being over-looked by other houses (proper phobic, not just a minor dislike) and the only reason I agreed to live here was because of those trees

What am I gonna do??!!

[smallblueplanet]

Put up a temporary 6ft willow/hazel screen nearer the house where you sit, whilst you wait for the leylandii to grow?

[piskieinboots]

book a hitman

[SarzWix]

book a hitman

Jez will have to be restrained when he gets home

Really fed up, the view from my kitchen window is now the back of someone's house & 3 mutilated trees
I'll post a pic when they've gone. The thick barstewards aren't getting paid til I've seen their boss, that's for sure!

[piskieinboots]

(((hugs)))

[SarzWix]

Here we go. Bearing in mind that my kitchen window is higher than where I took the picture from, and the bedroom windows even higher
I'll be amazed if they survive, there's so little greenery left on the left-hand 2.

[Two_Sheds]

Oh dear. Did you say it was tree surgeons or butchers what did it?

[nelliegemini]

That's dreadful! Please take loads of pictures, as evidence. These butchers (sorry to all of you in the meat trade) will want paying for this - and they shouldn't receive any money, just a compo claim.

I don't think Leylandii grows back from 'brown'

[PAULW]

NELLIE
Your right conifer doesn't grow from the brown that is the height for the rest of their life

[TPeers]

WHAT!!!!!

.............. !


I'll be back when I can be polite!

[Peter]

NELLIE
Your right conifer doesn't grow from the brown that is the height for the rest of their life

Not quite.

Any green bits will continue to grow.

The brown bits will stay as they are for ever, or until they rot.

[Seahorse]

Oh Sarah, that's horrible for you! I'd go with SPB's advice of a temporary (or permenant, I guess, if the Leylandii really are done for) screen, if you can. (hugs)

[Topaz]

We have lleylandi in our garden and our tree surgeon said if he was to top them they would probably die best to just trim. I would get on the phone to the boss at the earliest opportunity and voice your disgust this is not acceptable from people who claim to be proffesionals

[SarzWix]

Topaz, it should be safe to take up to a third of the height off the Leylandii without killing them. Any more than that is taking a risk.
I knew that we'd be putting the left-hand ones at risk by taking them down by 50%, but I was willing to try it as they're pretty healthy. I knew the ones at the back wouldn't take that amount of chopping so I said (at least 3 times) that they should only have a third taken off the tops. I said it to Mr Binns (boss/owner) when he came to price the job and to the 2 doylems who came to do the work...

Heigh ho...
So how to cope with it now it's done?
I was wondering about growing something up/over the massacred trees? I know that planting in the ground is pointless - bone dry & acidic - but I've got a big/deep dolly-tub which I could plant in? I was thinking maybe Clematis - Montana type which grows like mad, and/or some ivy for evergreen-ness? Any other ideas?

[piskieinboots]

Russian Vine is rampant - very!!