Hedge cutting and shaping
See what comes off before you book it
Set the hedge as it is now and how you would like it, and the drawing shows the growth that would be removed, to scale. The advice underneath changes with the hedge type, because a laurel and a leylandii do not take the same treatment.
- 0.9 m
- Off the top
- 0.3 m
- Off each side
- 32%
- Of the height removed
Now
After
A slight taper lets light reach the bottom, so the base stays green instead of going bare.
Laurel takes a hard reduction well and comes back from bare wood. Big leaves look tidier cut with secateurs or a sharp blade than shredded with a trimmer.
Best time: late winter or after the spring flush.
Between March and August, check for active nests before any hedge is cut. Damaging one is an offence, so we check first and leave any hedge that has birds nesting in it.
The summary goes into the enquiry form for you to edit.
How we cut a hedge
- 01
Look at what it is and what it can take
The hedge type sets the limits. We check for nests, for disease such as box blight, and for how much green growth there is to cut back into before we quote.
- 02
Set a line and cut to it
A string line for the top and a slight batter on the sides. Big reductions are cut with a saw rather than torn with a trimmer, so the cuts heal cleanly and the hedge comes back thick.
- 03
Clear up and say when to cut next
Cuttings are chipped and removed or left for your beds, the lawn is raked, and you get a straight answer on how often the hedge needs doing to hold the shape.
Hedge questions
- How much can a hedge be cut back in one go?
- Laurel, privet, beech, hornbeam, hawthorn and yew all regrow from bare wood, so a heavy reduction is fine, though anything over about a third to a half of the height is better done in two stages a year apart. Leylandii and most other conifers do not regrow from brown wood, so they can only be trimmed within the green growth.
- When is the best time to cut a hedge?
- It depends on the hedge. Most formal hedges are trimmed in early summer and again in late summer. Native hedges are cut in winter. Big reductions are best in late winter before growth starts. Between March and August, check for nesting birds before cutting anything.
- Why should a hedge be narrower at the top than the bottom?
- A slight taper, called a batter, lets light reach the lower growth. A hedge with vertical or overhanging sides shades its own base and goes bare and leggy at the bottom over time.
- Is there a legal height limit for hedges?
- No fixed limit, but an evergreen or semi-evergreen hedge over 2 m that blocks a neighbour's light can be the subject of a high hedge complaint to the council under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. Deciduous hedges are not covered.
- Do you take the cuttings away?
- Yes. Cuttings are chipped and taken away, or left as chip for your beds and paths if you would rather.
Hedges, ivy and clearance
Hedge work is part of vegetation management
Overgrown boundaries, ivy on walls and trees, field edges and lane sides, all across the TR postcodes.