Easy to price, harder to promise. The species sets the floor, and it is not negotiable.
Quoted on how much height is coming off, the length, the species, the access and the waste. Height reduction produces far more material than people expect, because the top of a hedge carries its widest growth.
We do not publish a fixed price list for hedge work, because it varies far more than a list would suggest. What we can do is explain what moves the number.
| Hedge | How far it can be lowered |
|---|---|
| Leylandii and cypress | Only into green growth |
| Yew | Hard — regrows from old wood |
| Beech and hornbeam | Hard, better staged if severe |
| Privet | Very hard; extremely forgiving |
| Laurel | Hard; responds strongly |
| Hawthorn and blackthorn | Hard |
| Holly | Reasonably hard, but slow work |
Tell us what you need and we will arrange a free quotation.
Worth planning for. The hedge grows from wherever you cut it, so cutting to exactly the height you want puts it above that within a season and you are back to a reduction rather than a trim. Coming down a little further buys you several years of simple maintenance at the height you actually wanted.
Lowering the top of a hedge without touching the sides frequently looks worse than doing neither, because the proportions go wrong — a hedge that was tall and narrow becomes short and wide, which reads as squat rather than tidy. It is worth quoting both together and deciding with the full picture, even if you only do the top this year.
Where the reason for lowering is a neighbour's complaint about light, it is worth knowing the background. An evergreen or semi-evergreen hedge over two metres that blocks light to a neighbouring property can be the subject of a formal complaint to the local authority — Bristol City Council for Hengrove — which carries a fee and requires evidence that you tried to resolve it first. Almost every case is better settled by agreeing a reduction voluntarily, often with the cost shared. This is general information rather than legal advice.
See what our hedge maintenance service covers in Hengrove, or read more about the service across the areas we work in.
It is quoted on how much height is coming off, the length, species, access and waste. Height reduction produces far more material than expected.
It depends entirely on the species. Yew, privet, beech, laurel and hawthorn take hard reduction well; conifers can only come down as far as green growth reaches.
Then it cannot be lowered much without leaving permanent brown, and replacement is worth considering instead.
Yes. The hedge grows from wherever you cut, so cutting to exactly your target puts you back where you started within a season.
Usually. Lowering the top alone often looks worse than doing neither, because a tall narrow hedge becomes short and wide.
The cut face will be brown initially. Deciduous hedges green up within a season; conifers may not if the cut went past green growth.
Late summer or early autumn for most, winter for deciduous hedges, and the growing season for conifers.
Agreeing a voluntary reduction is almost always cheaper and simpler than the formal council complaint process, and the cost is often shared.
Need tree surgery, hedge maintenance, fencing, garden clearance, turfing or power washing? Complete the form and tell us what work you require.
