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Post by roofgardener on Oct 8, 2015 15:03:01 GMT
Hello everyone, My Sister has a couple of small fir trees in her garden. They are only about 8' tall. However, she wants to cut them down to about 4'. If we just chop/saw the top 4' off, will this kill the tree ? Will it ever be able to grow vertically again, or will it just 'bush out' sideways ? Any thoughts/advice gratefully received.  |
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Post by daitheplant on Oct 8, 2015 18:17:51 GMT
It really all depends on what trees your sister has Roofus. Some conifers, such as Leylandii, go brown in the middle and will not regenerate, thus looking untidy if cut down. While others, such as Thuja, stay green in the centre and are more suitable for hard pruning.
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Post by Fractal on Oct 8, 2015 20:58:30 GMT
Take a pic if possible just to establish exactly what type of conifer they are. As Dai says, different types respond in slightly different ways to severe pruning.
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Post by SueA on Oct 9, 2015 8:24:23 GMT
As the others say Roofy it depends what kind of conifer it is but the 3 I chopped at the old house all carried on growing, I chopped about 5ft off a leylandii & 3ft off a conifer I can't remember the name of now but which was supposed to be 'very slow growing' but had got too big & 2ft off one which had started to block the view from the front window. they all carried on growing but as you tend to cut the main lead shoot/trunk off they resprout from a number of lower shoots so you get a multi-stemmed chunkier/wider looking tree or shrub. The leylandii I chopped was about 30ft tall again when we left as I didn't cut it down again, the 'slow growing' one was about 12ft & bushier & the one I carried on trimming in the front garden, which I think was a leylandii grown from a piece I dropped years ago, was a chunky rectangular shaped 'shrub' about 4ft tall.
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Post by roofgardener on Oct 9, 2015 8:37:42 GMT
Thanks for that folks. I will take photographs on Saturday just to confirm the type |
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Post by roofgardener on Oct 10, 2015 14:48:45 GMT
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Post by Cherry on Oct 10, 2015 15:27:39 GMT
They are making a bid for freedom now that they are established and comfortable. I would be thinning them out severely rather than shortening them. The pretty blue one is restricting the Acer, but possibly sheltering it too. They are all pretty trees, but too close to each other. Could that be Thuya occidentalis 'Rheingold' on the left. I planted this one at my previous house because it was supposed to be a dwarf tree, but that was a fib. Others may have better ideas which may be totally different to mine.
What do you think about the trees yourself Roofy?
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Post by roofgardener on Oct 10, 2015 15:47:10 GMT
It's my sister who makes the decisions (its her garden), and she wants them shortened. Sooo... the question remains.... if I chop the top halves off, will this variety of fir survive the surgery, or will they just keel over and die ? To answer your question Cherry; if it was me, I'd remove the lot, and plant onions  |
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Post by Cherry on Oct 10, 2015 19:54:46 GMT
A compromise might be the way to go. This is a case for Fractal as no-one else has answered your question Roofy. He is brilliant at identification and knows all the answers too. |
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Post by Fractal on Oct 10, 2015 22:19:58 GMT
Well, I'm only one voice of several on here that have experience but I thank you for your endorsement Cherry |
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Post by roofgardener on Oct 11, 2015 7:38:14 GMT
AOK Steve N, what would your thoughts be ? Would they survive the top 4' being lopped off ? Ahh... also.. I tried to highlight your name with the "@<name>" feature, but it seems to get confused by the space before the 'N' ... how do I do this with names that have a space in ? |
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Post by SueA on Oct 11, 2015 8:43:26 GMT
Roofy if you hover over Steve N's name above his avatar you'll see that his tag is @ fractal (without the space after the @) which is what you need to put to tag him, some people have a different tag to the name which displays on the page here, Raymond, Rosie etc. don't have just their names as tags.
The trees look very like the 'slow-growing' one which I chopped the top off at the other house, probably some kind of thuja occidentalis, so it should be fine if you chop the top off them, they will carry on growing though & get wider as mine did.
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Post by roofgardener on Oct 11, 2015 18:20:47 GMT
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Post by daitheplant on Oct 11, 2015 18:36:30 GMT
Roofus, the answer is simple. If your sister wants them cut then CUT them. |
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Post by Fractal on Oct 17, 2015 21:35:54 GMT
Incidentally, the conifers are a form of the Monterey Cypress called Cupressus macrocarpa 'Wilma' from the looks of them. Might be the cultivar 'Goldcrest' sometimes difficult from pics to tell them apart though Wilma is slower growing and generally denser. They respond well to cutting, better in fact than most true or false cypress (Cupressus and Chamaecyparis species and cultivars).
Like any of these though, a heavy decapitation will show exposed interior dead foliage but they will eventually fill in unlike many others of this type. One definitive test is if the foliage smell is lemony when bruised, it's definitely Cupressus macrocarpa.
Used a heck of a lot in southern Victoria and in new Zealand for hedging and field edging, the plain green species of it at least. Great for coastal regions too!
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