One keeps the size it is. The other changes it. Asking for the wrong one is the commonest reason a quote surprises people.
Trimming maintains a hedge at roughly its current size, taking off the season's growth and restoring the shape.
Reduction makes the hedge smaller than it currently is, cutting into older wood. It takes longer, produces far more waste, and on some species has a hard limit.
| Trimming | Reduction | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Maintains current size | Makes the hedge smaller |
| Cuts into | This season's growth | Older wood |
| Tools | Trimmers | Trimmers and saws |
| Waste | Modest | Substantial |
| Time | Hours | Can be a day or more |
| Species limits | Few | Significant on conifers |
| Appearance after | Immediately neat | Bare in places at first |
| Frequency | Annually or twice yearly | Occasionally, then maintain |
| Since last cut | What the job becomes |
|---|---|
| Under a year | Trim |
| One season missed | Heavier trim |
| Two years | Borderline — reduction, probably |
| Three years or more | Reduction, possibly staged |
| Five years or more | Restoration; a different scale of work |
This is usually the quickest way to answer the question. People describe a hedge as needing a trim and then mention it has not been cut since they moved in four years ago — at which point it is a reduction, and the quote reflects that.
Tell us what you need and we will arrange a free quotation.
For a hedge that has got away from you, the two are stages rather than alternatives.
Occasionally a hedge has gone too far. A conifer screen cut past its green years ago, or a hedge with a permanently bare base and no live growth low down, may be better replaced than reduced. Replanting takes years to screen again, so it is not a light decision — but it is sometimes the honest one, and we would rather say so than take money for a cut that will not achieve what you want.
Describe the problem rather than the operation, and say honestly how long it has been. "It is too tall and has not been cut in four years" tells us far more than "I need a trim", and it means the quote you get is the one you will actually pay.
See what our hedge maintenance service covers in Fishponds, or read more about the service across the areas we work in.
Trimming maintains a hedge at its current size by taking off the season's growth. Reduction makes it smaller, cutting into older wood — slower, far more waste, and limited on some species.
How long since it was cut is usually the quickest guide. Under a year is a trim; three years or more is a reduction, possibly staged.
Trimming, if the size is broadly right. Reduction is for a hedge that is too tall, too wide, unreachable or left for years.
They are usually stages rather than alternatives — a reduction to reset the size, then regular trimming to hold it there.
Yes, considerably. It takes longer, needs saws as well as trimmers, and produces far more waste.
Only within the green growth. If the hedge has outgrown that, it may not be reducible to the size you want.
Late summer or early autumn usually, after nesting and as growth slows.
Occasionally replacement is more honest than reduction. We would rather say so than take money for a cut that will not achieve what you want.
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