1. The height, how do you get 'up' high enough to lop the tops off?

I took down two monster leylandii , about 49ft as best that I could measure.


Use a laddder with a board tied across the top, say 3ft by 6" or whatever
you can find. Then just lean it into the tree. With a bit of jiggling it
works a treat. Use a bow saw to take out side branches to reduce
weight/volume. May need a smaller saw to start with to make access for bow
saw. Use ropes to restrict fall of any heavy branches so that they don't
swing into your ladder.

mark b