Leylandii hedge removal: cost, roots and what's left behind

Removing a Leylandii hedge typically costs about £70 per metre on our price card, with a minimum charge of £350, and hedges over 30 metres long are priced after a visit. That usually covers cutting the hedge down and taking the waste away. The stumps are a separate decision: you can leave them, or have the row ground out so you can replant. Once the hedge is gone, expect dry, tired soil that needs work before anything new will grow well.

Why people take Leylandii out

Leyland cypress grows fast, which is why it was planted so widely as a quick screen. The same speed is the problem. Left alone, a hedge meant to be two metres can pass the height of the house, shade the garden, dry out the borders and become expensive to keep trimmed. Common reasons for removal:

• it has grown far taller or wider than anyone wants
• it has gone brown and bare at the base or on one side
• it blocks light from the house or a neighbour's garden
• trimming it costs more each year than replacing it would

Reduce or remove?

The deciding fact is that Leylandii does not regrow from old brown wood. The Royal Horticultural Society warns that new growth will not appear from bare wood, so if you cut back into the brown interior, it stays brown.

That makes reduction possible only within limits:

• Height. The RHS says healthy plants usually respond to a height reduction of up to a third. Cutting harder risks a flat, bare top or losing plants. Bigger reductions need to be staged over more than one season.
• Width. Cutting the sides back past the green growth leaves permanent bare patches.

If the hedge is only a little too tall and still green on the sides, a hedge reduction and regular trimming may be enough. If it needs to lose half its height or width, or it is already bare, removal and replanting is usually the better long-term answer.

High hedge law

If the hedge belongs to a neighbour and is blocking your light, you may have a route through the council. Under the high hedge rules, a council can consider a complaint about a hedge made up of two or more mostly evergreen or semi-evergreen trees or shrubs, over two metres tall, that is affecting your enjoyment of your home or garden. Leylandii hedges are the classic example.

You must try to settle it with your neighbour first, and councils may charge a fee to consider a complaint. The council can order the hedge to be reduced and maintained, but it will not order it to be removed. If the hedge is yours, you do not need anyone's permission to remove it unless a tree preservation order or conservation area applies, which is rare for garden Leylandii but worth checking. See how to check if a tree has a TPO.

Nesting birds

Dense conifer hedges are a favourite nesting site. It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy a wild bird's nest while it is being built or in use. Removal is best planned for autumn or winter. If the work has to happen in spring or summer, the hedge must be checked first. Our guide to hedge cutting in nesting season explains the rules.

How removal is done

A typical Leylandii removal goes like this:

1. Check the hedge for nests, the boundary line, and any cables, pipes or walls close to the trunks.
2. Cut the foliage off in sections, often from a ladder or by climbing for taller hedges, and feed it through a chipper.
3. Fell or section the trunks down to a low stump.
4. Clear the waste. Leylandii produces a lot of chippings. Most firms take it away; some will leave chippings if you want them for paths.
5. Deal with the stumps, if included (see below).

The stumps and roots

Leylandii stumps do not regrow, so leaving them in is an option if you only want a lawn or gravel over the top. But they take years to rot, and you cannot plant a new hedge along the same line with them in the way.

Stump grinding the row takes each stump down below ground level and turns it to chippings. On our price card a single stump costs about £120–£180 under 30cm wide, £180–£280 at 30–60cm, and £280–£400 over 60cm. Many Leylandii stumps are in the smaller bands. Ask for one price for the whole row rather than adding up single-stump prices, as several stumps in one visit are usually quicker per stump. See stump grinding and the stump grinding cost guide. If you would rather have stumps pulled out whole, read about stump removal.

The soil afterwards

The ground under an old Leylandii hedge is usually poor:

• Dry. A mature hedge takes a great deal of water, and the soil along the line can stay dry for some time.
• Hungry. It has had little organic matter added for years.
• Covered in needles and chippings. Many gardeners find the soil slightly acidic after years of needle fall. A cheap pH test kit from a garden centre will tell you.

Before replanting, clear the chippings from the planting strip, dig in plenty of garden compost or well-rotted manure, and water well. If the pH test shows acidic soil and your new plants prefer neutral, spent mushroom compost adds organic matter and some lime at the same time. Give the ground a season to recover if you can.

Replacement hedge ideas

If you want a screen again, pick something that is easier to keep at a sensible height:

• Yew. Slower, but unlike most conifers it does regrow from old wood.
• Beech or hornbeam. Keep their brown leaves through winter and take hard cutting.
• Laurel or Portuguese laurel. Evergreen and quick, but needs regular trimming.
• Privet, holly or a mixed native hedge. Good for wildlife and easy to keep neat.

What it costs

These use our card rate of about £70 per metre. Height, access and whether the hedge is next to a building or road all affect the final price. Ask whether stump grinding is included or priced separately. The hedge removal cost guide has more detail.

Getting it done

We are an introducer. We pass your enquiry to one vetted local tree specialist in your area, who confirms a fixed price from your photos. Start with hedge removal, or hedge reduction if you want to keep the hedge.