Leylandii & conifers
Fast-growing and easy to let get away. The top can be taken down and held, but the sides won't regrow from bare brown wood, so reductions have to stop in the green.
Cut Late summer, once or twice a year
Hedge cutting · Harrogate
Hedge cutting in Harrogate
Tall boundary hedges, long estate hedges and formal hedging, cut, reduced and kept in shape across Harrogate and North Yorkshire. The big ones a gardener with a ladder can't reach.
- Free site visitWe walk the ground with you
- Fixed quoteWith drawings and a start date
- One crewFrom first dig to handover
- Harrogate + 20 milesThe Dales to the Vale of York
Most hedges are fine with a gardener and a trimmer. The ones we get called for aren't: four-metre leylandii along a boundary, a hundred metres of beech down a drive, a yew hedge that's been left too long and needs bringing back.
We cut from proper access equipment, set lines so the faces are straight and the tops level, and clear everything away. We don't do mowing or weekly gardening, but big hedges are a job of their own, and the hedges we've planted we're happy to keep in shape year after year.
What we do
- Annual cuts of tall and long hedges
- Height and width reductions
- Renovating overgrown hedges
- Formal hedging and topiary kept crisp
- Pleached trees and instant hedging we've planted
Hedges we cut most
Every species cuts differently
How hard a hedge can be cut, and when, depends on what it's made of. Get it wrong and some won't grow back.
Laurel
Big leaves that look ragged if they're shredded. It regrows well from old wood, so an overgrown laurel can be cut back hard and will recover.
Cut Late summer; hard cuts in late winter
Beech & hornbeam
The classic estate hedge. Cut at the right time, beech holds its copper leaves all winter. Both take hard renovation well.
Cut Late summer; renovate in late winter
Yew
Slow, dense and the best formal hedge there is. Even an old, overgrown yew can be brought back, one side at a time over two winters.
Cut Late summer to early autumn
How we cut
Straight faces, level tops
Look first
We check the species, how much it can take, and for nesting birds before any cut between March and August.
Agree the size
Height and width are agreed with you up front, and for a reduction we'll explain how far it can safely go this year.
Protect the garden
Sheets go down over lawns, borders and gravel so the cuttings don't end up in them.
Cut to a line
Lines are set so faces stay straight and tops stay level along the whole run, not just where it's easy to reach.
Clear up
Every cutting is cleared, and the lawn and borders are left tidy.
When to book
The right time of year
Nesting birds are protected by law, so main cuts and reductions happen from September to February. Light trims in spring and summer happen only after checking for nests. Book autumn cuts over the summer.
Work
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Hedge cutting & reductions
September: BestOctober: BestNovember: BestDecember: BestJanuary: BestFebruary: BestMarch: PossibleApril: PossibleMay: PossibleJune: PossibleJuly: PossibleAugust: Possible
Today
Best time
Possible, with care (weather or nesting birds)
FAQs
Hedge cutting questions
When is the best time to cut a hedge?
For most formal hedges, late summer to early autumn, once birds have finished nesting. Hard reductions are best done in late winter, before spring growth starts and before nesting begins.
Is it illegal to cut a hedge in spring or summer?
Cutting isn't illegal, but damaging or destroying an active bird's nest is, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. So we check before any summer trim and save big cuts and reductions for September to February.
Can you cut a leylandii hedge right back?
The height, yes: a leylandii can be topped and will hold that height with regular cutting. The sides need care, because leylandii won't regrow from bare brown wood. Cut back past the green and the gap stays. We'll tell you how far yours can go.
Can an overgrown yew, beech or laurel hedge be saved?
Usually. Yew, beech, hornbeam and laurel all regrow from old wood, so they can be cut back hard. We normally do one side one winter and the other side the next, so the hedge stays healthy and keeps some screening.
My neighbour's hedge is far too high. What can I do?
Talk to them first. If that doesn't work, under the high hedges rules the council can order an evergreen hedge over two metres that blocks light to be reduced. We can only cut a hedge with its owner's agreement, but we're happy to quote them for it.
Do you take the cuttings away?
Yes. Everything is cleared, and the lawn and borders are left tidy.
Hedge got away from you?
Tell us roughly how long and how tall it is, and we'll come and look. We'll tell you how far it can be cut and when.