Leyland Cypress are skanky 'cause they are generally planted in the wrong place (i.e. along a boundary fence between houses) and shade out the whole street because they have such dense canopies...they are even "named and shamed" in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act in the UK. There was talk before I left for Oz of giving LG's the authority to enter peoples property and cut their trees to a height of 2-3 metres if they refused to manage them in the way they were intended to be managed i.e. as a hedge. There have been a huge number of court cases re; Leylands, even one shooting when some bloke came back from his hol's to find his precious "hedge" lying in his pool...apparently his neighbour got medieval with a chainsaw!
Do a Google search and you will see what I mean. If Arbdog works in the UK then a lot of his time will be spent creating manageable hedges out of rampant Leylandii. Its painstaking, frustrating work, but once they are manageable, they can look fantastic. Leylands really lend themselves to hedging, and the way they grow ensures that you can even use a plumb line to get that razor edge look. Does'nt last long tho', they grow up to 2 metres a year...often faster if they are hedged. Great for revisit work!
