Leyland cypress planting and care

Leyland cypress planting and care on a large scale is an expensive venture. This

is the first year that we’ve been able to do it, our previous trees were all

small bonsai. But to be completely successful we had to be prepared for some

mishaps in the planting. The problem areas were:

The

shade of the tree and of its foliage

The

depth of the drainage

Deterioration of the roots due to the

unfavourable soil

An uneven base due to root

rotation

We

found our biggest problem to be an uneven base of the tree, probably caused by

rotation of the roots and a lack of care on our part. The area on the left is

a picture from the beginning of the day, the area on the right is from the

next morning.

We

managed to find a solution to our problem. We started with digging holes and

reinforced them with concrete. We then placed the plants in those holes, added

some drainage holes and waited for some time. Then we added soil in large

quantities and watered in. We only watered the surface area which was the

highest, which was enough to water the surface and soil. It was crucial that

we don’t water the roots and that they didn’t rot. After some days the

surface area dried out and our trees had settled in well. From now on the

soil will need to be checked regularly and the plants will need to be

watered carefully. But overall we are very satisfied with the result. We will

have to wait a little bit before we can assess the trees. For now we can only

be happy with how they look.

The

second problem is where the plants were planted in and around the trees, they

were not in the right place, or they had not even been planted yet. This

problem was due to the fact that the soil was heavy and it took more time to

water it than expected. We were also a little bit unsure of how much time the

plants needed to recover from being planted.

We

will try our best to not leave those gaps between the trees, and we will do our

best to plant them in the right place. The problem is, time is running out and

it is already late October. We have less and less time to finish everything.

This will be a big issue for us if we don’t manage to plant everything on time.

This year our aim is to finish everything before winter sets in. The trees are

our priority.

We

plan to cover up the gaps in the future. Our next step is to fill the gaps in

the soil, and for that we need to purchase a new planting kit. Until then we

will have to work with what we have got. Some gaps will be filled when we put

new plants in, some will be covered by a new bark. When we are done, we will

see how it looks. Our aim is to make the trees look natural, we don’t want a

fancy style that is more in vogue right now.

This

is how our trees will look when we are done:

We

started to get rid of some fallen branches. They are not very long, but they

are still a lot of wood. So we start to throw them into the woodpile,

carefully cutting them first.

We

started to collect the logs from the ground and bring them up to the house. We

plan to use them to build a garden fence. This is the area we need to work

more, the ground has holes in it. We think we have filled some of them, and we

would need to fill more of them to make them completely tight.

We

also plan to make a fence around the field where we are going to plant a bunch

of trees.

I

will keep you updated on our progress. I have a lot of work to do, and it

happens to be the harvest season. All of my time will be focused on preparing

the ground, and picking the vegetables. We are lucky that we are close to the

community garden.So there are always vegetables available for us.

I

hope you will be able to join us. Until next time, stay safe and healthy!

Sunday, September 18, 2014

I

have been working a lot. I have been spending most of my time going out and

pick up logs, and carrying them up to the house. I am still having my

problems. My muscles and back ache terribly, and I feel tired. I hope I can

get my work finished by the end of this week.

We

will have a family cookout on the weekend. I will be going to see my

grandfather. He has some issues to take care of. But I am looking forward to

seeing him. We don't have to go very far. He lives right next door to us. We

will have to pick up my mother, but I am looking forward to seeing him.

I

was on the computer earlier. I started to create an electronic list of all the

materials and tools I will need for my work. So I am trying to organize them,

and keep them all in order. I wanted to create this list in writing. I have a

few tools and materials that I already have. But there are some I will be

getting over the next few weeks.

I

wanted to go and see my grandfather over the weekend. But it looks like we

will have to postpone it. My sister and her family will be coming to visit

over the weekend. It should be a nice time. We have been wanting to get the

family together. So it should be good for everyone.

My

father had a heart attack about six weeks ago. They had to take him to the

hospital. It looked like he was going to have a good chance of making it. But

on the way to the hospital, he went into cardiac arrest. He didn't survive.

That was very unexpected. It was a shock to my family. He was such a nice man.

I am not going to let this set me back. I have a lot to do. And he is no

longer here to talk to me about it. But I will get on with my life.

In

some ways, my sister and I got along. We were pretty good friends. We had a

very close relationship. She was a loving person, and kind to me. Even though

I was the older of the two. We liked to argue, and we did