Service · Hedge reduction
A reduction is bigger than a trim: cutting back height and width on a hedge that has outgrown its space, usually staged so the plant survives the cut and looks right within a season, not scorched brown.
Most conifer species, leylandii and thuja especially, do not regenerate from brown wood. Cut past the green needle-bearing zone in one go and that face stays bare permanently. On the Chatham Maritime and Dockyard side of town, salt wind off the estuary already thins the seaward face naturally, so an aggressive one-off cut there is even more likely to leave a permanent gap. We stage a hard reduction across two winters rather than risk it.
Cut to an intermediate height, roughly two-thirds of the way to the final target. This leaves enough green growth on the plant to recover through the following spring and summer.
New growth fills in the sides. No further cutting during the nesting closure (1 March – 31 August) unless a visual check clears light trims.
Final drop to target height, now that the plant has recovered enough foliage to carry it without an ugly bare gap.
Species that do recover from harder pruning (beech, hornbeam, most deciduous hedging) can often take the full reduction in one winter session. We'll tell you at quote stage which category your hedge falls into. See our full staged leylandii reduction guide for the worked example.
Reductions in Chatham typically run £300 – £900, sometimes more for a large staged job across multiple visits. We quote a fixed price for the whole job, including the return visit if it's staged.
Photos and postcode to hello@chathamhedges.co.uk or call 07763 100 477. We'll tell you honestly whether it's a one-visit job or a staged one.