Leylandi

juliemcp58qoXckWLR

I have a fence but putting leylani in front as i thought it was good for wildlife. Someone please tell me  that it is. Also what small plants can i put in front of them for wild life. Dont have a big garden. Thanks. 

StephenSouthwest

I'm wondering if you can post a photo?

I'm sorry to say that I personally wouldn't plant leylandii in a small garden, and the only wildlife I've ever seen them support is pigeons.

Wild_Violet

I have small birds nesting over summer in some leylandii hedging but it is 2.5m or so high.
Also agree that isn’t the best hedging for smaller spaces - it may outgrow your garden quite soon and you can only cut it back so far. 

izzy8

How about a cotoneaster hedge, lots of varieties including some evergreens , fruits for the birds in autumn. 

Fairygirl

Hi @juliemcp58qoXckWLR - a photo of your site would be helpful, but as @StephenSouthwest says, it's not the most suitable hedge if you don't have much room. They need careful trimming from very early on to keep them at a manageable size, and even then, they want to be much bigger and wider than many other hedging plants. Trying to plant in front of them can also be very difficult due to the amount of moisture they soak up. A hedge of beech or hornbeam might be better as they can be kept tight, or - if the fence is yours, you might be better with a climber on it, and then you'd be able to plant a border there too  

I would disagree that they're of no value though. Kept correctly they make a good windbreak, and small birds get excellent shelter in conifers of all kinds, so if there's room for one, it can be very useful. 

JennyJ

juliemcp58qoXckWLR said:

I have a fence but putting leylani in front as i thought it was good for wildlife. Someone please tell me  that it is. Also what small plants can i put in front of them for wild life. Dont have a big garden. Thanks. 

Nothing will grow well close to leylandii - they suck up all the moisture and nutrients, as well as getting huge fairly quickly, taking up a lot of space and casting a lot of shade (if not on your garden then on next door's). Better to give the leylandii a miss, particularly in a small garden.

Plantminded

If you want a conifer hedge, go for Thuja plicata instead. It's not thuggish, can be kept in a very neat size and will cope with being cut back to old wood if necessary and regrow, unlike leylandii.  It also has value to wildlife, providing shelter and nesting space for small birds as @Fairygirl has said.  It will grow in light shade too - I only need to trim mine once a year.  I also have other plants growing close by.

bcpathome

Please don’t plant leylandii they are absolute thugs .They take up all the water so other plants won’t grow ,even lawns won’t grow.They get huge ,in height and width and take up so much room.I personally find them ugly trees anyway ,they take away natural light and their roots travel for yards in the garden sucking up water and getting into drains both yours and neighbours ones.Of course I wouldn’t dream of telling you how to plant your own garden but all these things have happened to me from neighbouring gardens .I hope this warning email helps you to decide what to do next .

bcpathome

Also they don’t really encourage wild life ,there are better trees or shrubs you could choose .