Whats the best way to kill a conifer hedge?

Question

i have a conifer hedge at the bottom of my garden i wont to kill it off to let the sun in,i cant have it cut down because of next doors fence,its nailed to the tree trunks.i have spoken to them about it but they say they dont wont to pay for posts,to replace the trunks,i dont wont a dispute with them so i thought that if there was somthing i could use to kill the trees,but still leave the trunks standing then everyone will be happy.

Answer 1

You could bark ring them.

A foot or two from the ground (easy access) cut out a strip of the bark about 2" wide, right the way around the tree.  The bark contains little channels which carry water and nutrients to the rest of the tree; without the channels the top of the tree will die.

Answer 2

drill holes in them and fill with diesel

Answer 3

creosote should kill them,but personally i would cut them down.they are your trees to cut down so there is nothing to dispute

Answer 4

Dig them out or pull them out with a truck and chain.

Answer 5

C4 is good...

Seriously tho, just cut all the branches off and leave the trunks in up to the level of the fence. You might get some growth out of the top, but nothing you can't pull off before it gets too thick.

Answer 6

if you are going to look at a fence  held up by dead tree trunks, go ahead and cut all the branches off... they'll die and still stand there, holding up the fence...for a while... they will eventually fall and take the fence down, too......

. and why did they think it was okay to nail a fence to YOUR trees in the first place?.... you're too nice... I'd take a chain saw to the trees and their fence would just have to fall.... the nerve of those people!... did you KNOW that fence was nailed to your trees?.... and you didn't have a fit then?....

Answer 7

If its your conifer hedge you can do what the h**l you like with it, whether they've nailed a fence or a dog to it!

If it is also your boundary responsibility you've got to sort the fencing afterwards. (check your deeds)

Otherwise, you don't need to kill the trees - just strip them to leave the stems high enough to hold the fence up. Not many conifers can recover from having all their foliage removed. Depending on their size (you say you want to let light in so i assume they're over 20 feet) they will stand for about 8-12 years as stumps.

Answer 8

I bet you want to get to know them dont you?

well, good luck .....and I hope you ruin their lives.

Answer 9

If you cut conifers back to old wood they often wont grow again at all - so that is what I would do - but your neightbours side will have to be done too.

Other than that - yes drill holes and diesel - but it may take a while.