Services · Tree work

Tree services in Canterbury, five standard operations, done properly.

The mature trees behind your hedge need different work at different points in their life. We do the five that come up on almost every Canterbury garden: pruning, crown thinning, crown raising, crown reduction and deadwooding. TPO and conservation-area applications handled where the tree is protected.

Pruning

Selective removal of dead, diseased or structurally unsound parts, branches, buds, roots. The general tree work every mature garden tree needs on a cycle. Formative pruning on young trees; maintenance pruning on established ones.

Pruning detail & pricing

Crown thinning

Selective removal of live branches to reduce canopy density. Wind passes through instead of loading the tree; more light reaches the garden below. First choice on mature limes, sycamores and beeches that have gone dense.

How thinning works

Crown raising

Also called crown elevation. Removing lower branches to give pedestrian, vehicle or building clearance, or to open up a sightline. The usual answer when a mature tree has been under-managed for a decade and is now leaning on the drive.

When to raise

Crown reduction

Reducing the overall height or spread by cutting branches back to lateral limbs of a sensible size. Not topping, that's the wrong approach and we don't do it. Reduction protects the tree's future shape while relieving the pressure now.

Reduction vs topping

Deadwooding

Removal of dead, dying or diseased branches from the canopy. Purely for safety and tree health, nothing structural changes. Standard annual maintenance on established garden trees, especially over paths and driveways.

Deadwooding detail

Also on the boundary

Hedge cutting, and height and width reduction, all the boundary work you'd expect from a hedge specialist, done to the same standard as the tree work.

See hedge services

Before we cut

TPO and conservation-area checks, included.

Most of central Canterbury sits inside one of 97 designated conservation areas. Any tree over 75mm in diameter at 1.5m needs six weeks' section-211 notice to Canterbury City Council before work. A tree with a Tree Preservation Order needs a full application with 8 weeks' notice. We check both, file the paperwork, and quote knowing which window we're working in, no last-minute stop-work order on the day.