Conifer hedge with brown patches

[Andrew Gabriel]

[Already tried uk.rec.gardening]

I've got a conifer hedge which is about 6m long by 2.5m high by 2m wide. I'm not sure what type of conifer -- I don't think it's Leylandii as it doesn't grow that fast -- it only needs one or occasionally two cuttings per year to keep it very neat. I do normally keep it cut very square, but I noticed brown areas on it earlier this year and wondered if I'd cut it too much last year, so I've let it shoot a bit.

However, I've just heard about conifer aphids this year, and the damage does seem to exactly fit with this. Reading up, it seems I should cut the hedge as normal now, but not in autumn (which I never do anyway). There's also talk of getting trees sprayed - is that any good? I imagine spraying something of this size effectively is a professional job? Won't it all wash off next time it rains?

[Doki]

Conifers tend to go brown and manky if they're cut back too hard. My experience of sprays for stuff that's not going to be eaten is that they're surprisingly resistant to being washed off once they've dried on.

[Bitstreams]

I heard a piece about brown patches on Gardeners Question Time - I think it was this weeks and it might be available on listen again (radio4). There's something going around that attacks Leylandii apparently.

Simon

[Cerberus .]

Yep it's called 'Iratus neighbourus'. ;-)

Don.

[Dave]

I hope it is fatal then :-))

Dave

[Bruce]

It is apparently due to aphids that are normally found in Spain, Italy and the south of France but which are now making their homes in the south of England as a result of climate change.

Heaven knows what this further influx of immigrants will do to the housing market. ;-)

[The Natural Philosopher]

The chainsaw bug?

[Andrew Gabriel]

Yes, I think I heard it too. It's not just Leylandii though, and this hedge is a conifer much slower growing and more dense than Leylandii.

[AJH]

Macrocarpa? Have a look for coryneum canker, this takes out whole branches because it kills the bark, takes years to finish the tree.

Otherwise suspect a good old fashioned Phytophthora, not the fancy new hybrids.

Most prevalent seems to be the cypress aphid on the yellow leylandii but given the wet summer conditions are ripe for fungal attack.

AJH

[Dave]

I like that, but see the new heading and come up with an answer that is stopping me from getting a good signal for TV :-=)

Dave

[Huge]

Just poison it and the owner will cut it down.

[Anna Kettle]

Cut away a strip of bark just below the ground

Anna

-- Anna Kettle Lime plaster repair and conservation Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc Tel:    (+44)  01359 230642 Mob:  (+44)  07976 649862 Please look at my website for examples of my work at:

 

[Dave]

How does that work? It sounds like a good idea.

Dave

[Cerberus .]

Cutting the bark ( a couple of inches around the trunk) off starves the tree & eventually kills it. It's called ring barking or Girdling see;

[Anne Welsh Jackson]

Deisel will kill it, or copper nails hammered into the trunk...

[HowieC]

|Dave wrote: |> The Natural Philosopher wrote: |> > Bitstreams wrote: | |> >> I heard a piece about brown patches on Gardeners Question Time - I |> >> think it was this weeks and it might be available on listen again |> >> (radio4). There's something going around that attacks Leylandii |> >> apparently. |> > |> > The chainsaw bug? | |> I like that, but see the new heading and come up with an answer that is |> stopping me from getting a good signal for TV :-=) | |Deisel will kill it, or copper nails hammered into the trunk...

Both might take some time though.

Quickest way is to drill a hole, more than halfway through the trunk, downwards at a 45' angle. Fill it with stump-killer powder. Works a treat.

H.

[Mark]

How do you hide it though?

[Poppa]

in to the root structure of the offending tree. He then poured sulphuric acid down the pipe...

[Anne Welsh Jackson]

I'm going to try that! The arse who lived next-door has trimmed his leylandii hedge today, attempted to sweep the worse of the cuttings off the top of my retaining wall, and ripped out all the houseleek plants that have been growing there since last year. I replaced them last year, after he swept the cuttings from my wall...

I'm getting fed up of this annual replacement of plants...and who needs a bloody 14' hedge blocking all the sunlight from their garden? I certainly don't!

[Anne Welsh Jackson]

As long as the hole isn't too big, a 'smudge' of mud should do it?