Trimming conifer trees

[paulakydd]

Hi can anyone help me please, I am a gardening virgin and need to trim my conifer trees back to keep my neighbour happy and i dont want them to end up 40 ft tall, they are 9-10ft tall just now, Where do I start.....Thanks

 

[breezer]

need to trim my conifer trees back to keep my neighbour happy and i dont want them to end up 40 ft tall, they are 9-10ft tall just now, Where do I start.....Thanks

at the top?

 

[paulakydd]

Do you mean I can cut them down to the size I want then start trimming the sides, starting from the top. Thanks for advice.

 

[Thermo]

pinch out the top central shoot to stop it increasing in height.

clip it all over with a hedge trimmers to get a good shape to it. dont go too far back, once you get past the green it wont come back and youll end up with brown patches.

wear gloves and a long sleeve top as they can give a nasty rash

 

[JohnD]

if you cut them to about 6 foot, once or twice every year, then you will be able to do it with a stepladder. You will also have to trim the branches every year to stop them getting too fat.

the ideal height to trim Leylandii is 1 foot below ground level.

 

[Bodgeit and scarper ltd]

If you cut the sides back to the dead wood it will not grow back

 

[paulakydd]

When you say the ideal height to trim them is 1ft below ground level I take it you mean de root them completely get rid. Sorry for ignorance this is the first time I have ever had to garden, if that is what you mean I dont want to do that I really like them the birds nest there and im into environmental issues it would be a shame to get rid of them I just want to tidy them up a bit so I can put a fence up.

 

[crazycanuck]

You can safely trim about 1-2 feet from the top about every two years,
the sides , when new growth is seen cut back just beyond new growth and any dead brown areas these will fill in with new growth during the summer. large branches can be cut by using--- hand saw-small chain saw---or branch trimmer.
Make a clean cut no broken off branches as they take forever to come back.