NEEDED:

Pictures, lots of pictures

;)

John

they were improperly planted.. without any thought as to mature size.. shape.. and form ....

are you owner or renter ...

in the conifer forum.. this is one of the most hated plants.. for a myriad of reasons.. including those you mention ...

if i were owner.. i would start thinking about removal ...

why mess around with the prior owners NIGHTMARES.. when you can start fresh.. and create your own future nightmares.. of which.. you will be much more proud.. lol ...

simply drive thru suburbia.. and you will see.. if you are paying attention.. millions of nightmares.. created by planting those cute little 2 foot plants.. 2 feet from the house.. the drive.. sidewalk.. etc ..

who knew that conifers were trees.. and basically will keep growing for centuries ... and this particular one.. AT THREE FEET PER YEAR !!!!! ... i mean really .. you will be out there every 45 minutes hacking it back.. to maintain any order out there ... check out the link ... as to its potential ...

now.. had you been there for the last decade.. you probably have 'managed' them into some shape.. but it is real hard.. to make grandpa look like a 20 year old stud.. if you get my drift ...

i dont need no stinking picture.. GET RID OF THEM ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: browse down the page looking at the big ones ...

When did you "trim" them back? Despite various opinions to the contrary, Leylands can make a very effective screening hedge but placement is rather critical. They can be sheared into a very formal hedge shape if desired or 'trimmed' back to maintain a more narrow profile. The filling in response is not immediate and you may not see much effect for at least another growing season. But it should work! 20-30' is not all that huge for Leylands, so I'd not guess these were planted decades ago and as long as they are not too closely planted, should respond nicely to you efforts.

I can speak to this personally, as there is a similar border of 20+' Leylands separating my property from the neighbors. They get trimmed back along the sides on only an annual basis and in the three years I have lived there, have filled in to form a pretty much solid but relatively narrow screen.

Leylands can get a lot of negative publicity but they are handsome trees if grown in the right place and under the right conditions :-) No better or no worse than any other tree species. They are just too often misplanted or over/under estimated as to their performance.