Reducing a tree's height and spread while keeping its natural shape — and keeping it healthy.
Crown reduction makes a tree smaller while leaving it looking like a tree. Each branch is shortened back to a suitable growth point, so the canopy keeps its natural outline and the tree can seal the wounds and carry on growing.
It is the usual answer when a tree has simply got too big for where it stands — blocking light to a window, overhanging a neighbour's garden, catching too much wind, or pressing against a roof.
Topping means cutting the crown back to stubs with no regard for growth points. It is still done by some operators because it is quick, and it causes long-term damage: the tree responds with dense, weakly attached regrowth, the large exposed cuts decay, and within a few years you have a tree that is both uglier and more dangerous than before you started.
Properly specified reduction is slower and costs more. It is also the only version worth paying for.
The British Standard for tree work, BS 3998, is clear that a reduction described only as a percentage is imprecise and unsatisfactory. Work should be specified by what is left — the finished height and spread, or the length removed from the branches in metres.
So rather than quoting you for a vague "30 per cent off", we will agree the finished height and spread with you before we start. The standard also sets sensible limits on how much a tree can take at once: no more than around 30 per cent of the leaf-bearing crown, and cuts generally kept under 100mm in diameter. A heavy reduction on a mature tree is better done over two visits a few years apart than all at once.
Most species are best reduced in late autumn or winter while dormant, though there are exceptions — and some trees bleed heavily if cut in early spring. We will advise on timing for your particular tree rather than just booking the next free slot.
A reduced tree will put on growth again. Depending on species and how hard it was reduced, expect to revisit it every three to five years to keep it at the size you want.
Reduction shortens each branch back to a suitable growth point, so the tree keeps its shape and can heal. Topping cuts the crown back to stubs regardless of growth points. Topping is quicker and cheaper, and it leaves you with weak regrowth, decay, and a tree that becomes more hazardous over time. We do not top trees.
As a guide, no more than about 30 per cent of the leaf-bearing crown at a time. Taking more stresses the tree and tends to trigger heavy regrowth. If you want a substantial size reduction on a mature tree, staging it over two visits a few years apart gives a far better result.
Not if it is done properly and at the right time of year. Cuts made back to growth points, kept within sensible limits, seal over and the tree carries on. Damage comes from over-reduction and from topping, not from reduction itself.
Typically every three to five years, depending on the species and how hard it was reduced. Fast growers like willow and poplar come back sooner than oak or beech.
If the tree has a Tree Preservation Order, yes — reduction counts as work needing written consent. In a conservation area you need to give six weeks notice. We can deal with the council for you.
Send a photo and the address and we will come back to you with a clear price.
