From £120 for a short hedge; a long or tall hedge £380 to £700
Hedge cutting and reduction
Laurel, leylandii, beech, yew, hawthorn and the mixed field hedges round the village gardens: trimmed once or twice a year, or taken down hard from four metres to two so it can be kept from the ground again. Sheets down, clippings chipped, the lane swept, and a date in the diary for next year if you want one.
A hedge is the job we do most of between March and September, and the one most people under-estimate: forty metres of three-metre leylandii is a tonne and a half of clippings and a full day with the chipper. We price it by the length and the height because that is what decides the time, and the estimator uses the same bands we use in the yard. A tidy hedge trimmed once a year takes a morning; a hedge that has got away over five years takes a day and a decision about how hard to go.
Conifer hedges cannot be cut back into brown wood and expected to regrow, so a leylandii that has reached five metres cannot be taken to two in one cut without staying brown; we reduce the height hard, which it tolerates, and take the sides back in stages over two seasons. Laurel, beech, yew, hornbeam and hawthorn all regrow from old wood and can be renovated hard in one winter. We say which yours is at the visit and give you the honest timescale.
Birds nest in hedges from March to August and it is an offence to disturb an active nest. We check the hedge before we start, work from the ends inward so anything in there can leave, and will stop and come back if we find one. The high-hedge rules under the Anti-social Behaviour Act apply to evergreen hedges over two metres; if a neighbour has complained we can give you the measurements the council will ask for.
What is included
- A visit and a fixed quote by length and height
- Sheets down on the lawn, the beds and the lane
- Long-reach trimmers or a platform for the tall ones
- Clippings chipped and taken away
- The lane, the drive and the neighbour's side swept
- A date for next year in the diary, if you want it
What it costs
A hedge under 10 metres and under 2 metres high £120 to £180; 10 to 30 metres or up to 3 metres £190 to £360; longer or taller, with the long-reach kit or a platform, £380 to £700, including VAT and the clippings taken away. Including VAT and £5 million of public liability cover. The estimator turns your job into a band in ten seconds; the areas page says whether your postcode carries a travel charge.
Questions about hedges
Can you do the neighbour's side?
With their permission, yes, and we knock and ask on the day if you have not. We cannot go onto their land without it, and clippings that fall their side are cleared.
Do you take the clippings?
Yes, every time, unless you want them chipped onto your own beds. Leylandii chip is acidic and best on paths; beech and hawthorn chip is fine anywhere.
A band from the estimator. A fixed quote after we have looked.
The estimator turns the job, the size of the tree and the access into a price band before you ring. The quote form takes two minutes; Owen or Ffion replies within two working days with a visit that week, and the quote after it is the figure on the invoice. A tree down right now: the storm line, any hour.