Hedge Trimming in Nottingham — Cutting, Pruning, Reduction and Removal
Hedge work across Nottingham and the surrounding boroughs, including West Bridgford, Beeston, Arnold, Carlton, Gedling, Hucknall, Bulwell, Clifton, Ruddington, Sherwood, Mapperley, Wollaton, Stapleford and Chilwell. Fully insured, NPTC-certified, and every trimming cleared from site before we leave.
We cut everything from a single privet frontage to a two-hundred-metre leylandii boundary — maintenance trims, hard reductions, renovation of neglected hedges, complete hedge removal, and traditional hedge laying on rural boundaries. Free written quotes, usually the same working day.
- Rated ★★★★★ by Nottingham customers
- NPTC-certified and fully insured
- Free same-day quotes, no call-out charge
- Powered access for tall hedges
- Nesting bird checks March to August
- Every trimming cleared — no mess left
Based in Shirebrook · covering Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire
Request a FREE Hedge Quote
Tell us the rough length and height of the hedge and roughly when it was last cut, and we can usually price it the same working day — often without a site visit.
Amazing work done by Tom and his team came out last minute to do a job for us and we are so grateful would highly recommend him to anyone!
Helen Hinchliff
Oct 2025
Great job done by Tom and his team! 100% recommend. Five star all round 😃
Kate Finn
Aug 2025
Brilliant job from Tom and the team - friendly, reliable and well priced. All mess was cleared away and Tom made sure we were 100% happy with the job, chopping more off the tree as we asked. 5 star service and highly recommend A*
Natalie Rumsey
Jun 2025
A fantastic job done removing my three conifer trees. On time well actually early! Very professional, polite and friendly. They left everything tidy and took all the rubbish with them. Would definitely recommend Tom and his team. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mandy Moore
Jun 2025
Tom was really professional very good job done of my conifers would definitely recommend *****
Carol Dockwray
May 2025
Excellent work. Did exactly what we wanted. Extremely friendly and good advice. Definitely recommend.
Jane Fretwell
May 2025
Had to get rid of a tree before viewings on our house. Tom was professional and efficient. Got the job done quickly for a good price. Left everything clear and tidy. Thanks Tom
Siobhan Meades
May 2025
had Tom and his crew in today to rip out an unsightly overgrown hawthorn hedge and grind the stumps, splendid job and the garden left clean and tidy, can highly recommend their services
Brian Reuben James
Apr 2025
A truly professional service, fantastic knowledge and offers no obligation advice if you’re not sure what you need. Came and took an exceptionally large Laurel tree down for me, fully cleared and tidied, left my garden with so much more light (and sunshine when we get it) would definitely recommend.
Diane Hayden
Feb 2025
TB Tree care, Initial opinion completely professional. Polite at all times. When asked to do more work we agreed then and there and was very happy to go ahead. Never felt pressured or anything. I would recommend Tom for this service. five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Scraton Alexzander
Feb 2025
Why trust TB Tree Care for hedge cutting in Nottingham?
Hedges are where most garden contractors do the most damage, because the mistakes are invisible for a season and then permanent. Cut a conifer hedge back into brown wood and it will never regrow. Take a mature beech too hard in one go and you lose the face of it for years. Scalp a hedge annually at the same height and it goes bare and leggy at the base while widening at the top.
We cut to an agreed height and width that is written down before we start, and we tell you honestly what a neglected hedge will and will not recover from. Nottingham has a lot of 1970s and 80s leylandii that is now well past maintainable height, and the honest answer there is frequently removal rather than a reduction that will kill it slowly.
The right cut for the species
Leylandii and Lawson cypress will not regenerate from old wood, so reductions have to stay in green growth. Beech, hornbeam, privet, laurel, hawthorn and yew will all take renovation back into bare wood, but staged over two or three seasons rather than all at once. We work to what the species can actually take.
Powered access for tall boundaries
Working off ladders on a tall hedge is both dangerous and produces a wavering line. We use tracked access platforms for tall boundary hedges and long conifer runs across the city, and lighter equipment that passes through a standard side gate on the tighter terraced plots.
Nesting birds — checked, not assumed
It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy an active nest. We inspect every hedge before cutting between March and August, and where we find an active nest we leave that section and return once the birds have fledged rather than cutting around it and hoping.
Get a free Nottingham hedge quote
Call 07949 268926 for a free, no-obligation quote on hedge trimming, reduction or removal anywhere in Nottingham. Most quotes are returned the same working day, and there is no call-out charge anywhere in the area.
Hedge Trimming & Cutting in Nottingham
Routine hedge cutting is the bulk of what we do across the city — an agreed height and width, a clean defined finish, and every trimming cleared before we leave.
The species mix changes noticeably across Nottingham. The inter-war and post-war suburbs of Arnold, Carlton, Gedling, Woodthorpe and Bulwell are dominated by privet, leylandii and laurel doing the work of a boundary fence. West Bridgford, Wollaton and the older parts of Sherwood and Mapperley have more formal beech, hornbeam and yew, often on properties where the finish matters as much as the height. Out towards Ruddington, Cotgrave and Radcliffe on Trent it shifts again to mixed native hawthorn and blackthorn field boundaries.
How often a hedge should be cut
Formal hedges such as privet, box and yew hold their shape best on two cuts a year, typically late spring and late summer. Leylandii and Lawson cypress need at least one annual cut to stay within green growth. Beech and hornbeam are usually fine on a single late-summer cut. Native field hedgerows are cut on a longer rotation.
Height and width, agreed in writing
We set the finished dimensions with you before the first cut and record them, so subsequent visits are consistent and nobody is guessing. Hedges cut to a slight batter — narrower at the top than the base — hold light to the bottom and stay dense rather than going bare underneath.
Hedge Pruning & Hard Reduction
Pruning and reduction is a different job to a maintenance trim. Where a hedge has been left several seasons and has grown well beyond the size the owner wants, bringing it back means cutting into older wood — and whether that works depends entirely on the species.
Beech, hornbeam, privet, laurel, hawthorn and yew all regenerate from old wood and can be renovated, but the work has to be staged: one face and the top in the first season, the second face two or three years later once the first has recovered. Attempting the whole thing in one go leaves the hedge bare, stressed and slow to recover. Leylandii, Lawson cypress and most other conifers will not regenerate from brown wood at all, so reduction is limited to whatever green growth remains.
Staged renovation over several seasons
We plan a renovation across two or three visits and tell you at the outset what it will look like at each stage. It is slower and it looks worse before it looks better, but it is the difference between recovering a mature hedge and killing one that took thirty years to grow.
When reduction will not work
If a conifer hedge has no green growth left at the height you want it, cutting to that height will kill the hedge and leave a brown screen that never recovers. We will tell you that before taking the job rather than after, and talk through removal and replanting as the realistic alternative.
Hedge Removal in Nottingham
Sometimes the right answer is taking the hedge out. Leylandii screens planted across Nottingham in the 1970s and 80s are the usual case: past maintainable height, taking all the light from the garden, and with no green growth low enough to reduce into.
We remove full hedge runs, grind out the stump line, take out the connecting surface roots between stumps, and leave a clean strip ready for fencing, replanting or turfing. That last part matters — a removal that leaves a line of stumps and root plate makes it impossible to get fence posts in or dig a planting hole, which is usually the entire point of clearing the boundary.
What full removal includes
Cutting the hedge down in sections, chipping and removing all arisings, grinding the stump line out below ground level, and clearing the connecting roots. We leave the strip workable rather than technically clear. Fence line? Tell us and we grind deeper and wider along the post positions.
Boundary hedges and your neighbour
If the hedge sits on a shared boundary you need your neighbour's agreement before removing it, and a hedge over two metres of evergreen can also fall under the High Hedges provisions of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. We can advise on where the line falls, though a genuine dispute is one for the council rather than us.
Hedge Laying on Rural Boundaries
Traditional hedge laying is the old method of rejuvenating a native field hedge — part-cutting the stems near the base, bending them over at an angle and weaving them between stakes so they continue growing horizontally. It produces a boundary that is genuinely stock-proof, far denser at the base than any cut hedge, and considerably longer-lived. We lay mixed native hedgerows of hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel and field maple on the agricultural boundaries around Ruddington, Cotgrave, Radcliffe on Trent, Lowdham and the rural edge of the city. The work is done in winter when the hedge is dormant, between roughly November and early March.
When laying beats cutting
A native hedge that has been flail-cut at the same height for years goes gappy and hollow at the base and stops being a barrier. Laying rebuilds it from the bottom rather than trimming the top of a failing structure. It is a bigger job once, instead of an ineffective job every year.
Timing and the nesting season
Laying is winter work — dormant season only, between November and early March. That keeps it well clear of the nesting season and gives the hedge a full growing year to establish the new growth from the laid stems.
What Hedge Cutting Costs in Nottingham
Hedge work is priced by the job rather than by the metre, because length on its own tells you very little. The variables that actually move the price are height — specifically whether it can be reached from the ground or needs powered access — depth, whether it needs cutting from both sides, whether it is a maintenance trim or a hard reduction into old wood, and how much green waste comes off. A neglected run generates a surprising volume. Booking an annual or twice-yearly arrangement works out materially cheaper per visit than one-off call-outs, because the hedge never gets far enough out of hand to need heavy work. Our tree surgery prices page explains how we quote in more detail.
What pushes a hedge quote up
Height beyond ladder reach, cutting required from both faces, hard reduction rather than a trim, conifer runs beyond about twenty metres, restricted access for removing arisings, and renovation staged across seasons. Any of those changes the job from routine to substantial.
Where you can genuinely save
Cutting annually instead of every third year, agreeing a fixed height and width so the hedge stays maintainable, letting us leave chippings on site as mulch where that suits the garden, and booking neighbouring properties on the same day so we are set up once.
Commercial & Contract Hedge Maintenance
We hold hedge maintenance contracts with schools, care homes, housing associations, retail parks, sports grounds and commercial landlords across Nottingham and the surrounding boroughs. A typical contract covers two scheduled cuts a year timed around the nesting season, with a written record of each visit and priority attendance if something needs dealing with in between. Fixed annual pricing, the same crew each time, RAMS documentation issued before attendance, £5 million public liability insurance and 30-day invoice terms. For sites with public access we can work outside opening hours and arrange pedestrian management where the hedge fronts a footway.
Scheduled, recorded and invoiced once
Two visits a year on agreed dates, a written record of what was cut and when, and one annual invoice rather than a series of call-out charges. The record matters for sites where a managing agent or governing body needs evidence that maintenance is actually happening.
Working around a live site
Out-of-hours and weekend working where a school, care home or retail site cannot be disrupted, full method statements and risk assessments issued in advance, and a single point of contact for the duration of the contract.
No Mess — Every Trimming Cleared
Clearing up is part of the job, not an optional extra. Arisings are chipped and removed, borders and paths are swept, and we lay sheeting down before cutting starts so trimmings come off planting rather than being raked out of it afterwards. On the tighter terraced plots across Sneinton, Radford, Hyson Green and Carlton where everything has to come back through the house, we protect the route in and clear as we go rather than stacking the whole cut in the hallway. If you would rather keep the chip as mulch we will leave it stacked wherever suits — just say so when we quote.
Before we start
Sheeting over borders and lawn beneath the hedge, vehicles and furniture moved clear or covered, and the route for arisings agreed. Five minutes of setup saves a great deal of raking and does considerably less damage to the planting underneath.
Before we leave
All arisings chipped and taken away, paths and drives swept, sheeting lifted and borders checked over. We would rather spend the extra twenty minutes than have you find clippings in the beds for the next month.
TB Tree Care — your local Nottingham hedge maintenance experts
Hedge Trimming Nottingham — FAQs
How much does hedge trimming cost in Nottingham?
Hedge work is priced by the job, based on height, depth, length, species, and whether it is a maintenance trim or a hard reduction. A routine annual cut reachable from the ground is the cheapest recurring work we do; a neglected run needing powered access and staged renovation costs considerably more. Quotes are free and often possible from a photograph and rough measurements.
How often should hedges be trimmed in Nottingham?
Formal hedges such as privet, box and yew hold their shape best with two cuts a year, usually late spring and late summer. Leylandii and Lawson cypress need at least one annual cut to stay within green growth. Beech and hornbeam are generally fine on one late-summer cut, and native field hedgerows are cut on a longer rotation.
Can you cut hedges during the nesting season?
We can, but only after checking. It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy an active nest, so between March and August we inspect the hedge before starting and leave any section holding an active nest until the birds have fledged. We will not cut around a nest and hope.
My leylandii is too tall — can it be reduced?
Only into green growth. Conifers do not regenerate from brown wood, so if there is no green foliage left at the height you want, cutting to that height will kill the hedge and leave a permanent brown screen. Where that is the case we will say so upfront and talk through removal and replanting instead.
Can you renovate an overgrown beech or privet hedge?
Yes — beech, hornbeam, privet, laurel, hawthorn and yew all regenerate from old wood. The work is staged across two or three seasons, doing the top and one face first and the second face once the first has recovered. Attempting it all in one go leaves the hedge bare and stressed for years.
Do you remove hedges completely?
Yes. We cut the run down, chip and remove all arisings, grind the stump line out below ground level and clear the connecting roots, so the strip is genuinely workable for fencing or replanting rather than just technically clear. Tell us if a fence is going in and we grind deeper along the post line.
Do you do traditional hedge laying?
Yes, on native field hedgerows of hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel and field maple around the rural edge of the city — Ruddington, Cotgrave, Radcliffe on Trent and Lowdham. It is dormant-season work between November and early March, and it produces a genuinely stock-proof boundary far denser at the base than any cut hedge.
Can you reach tall or awkward hedges?
Yes. We use tracked access platforms for tall boundary hedges and long conifer runs, which is both safer and gives a straighter line than working off ladders. On tighter terraced plots we use lighter equipment that passes through a standard side gate without lifting fence panels.
Will you clear up the trimmings?
Always, and it is included in the quoted price. We sheet the borders before cutting, chip and remove all arisings, and sweep the paths and drive before leaving. If you would rather keep the chippings as mulch we will stack them wherever suits you instead.
Do you cover West Bridgford, Beeston and Arnold?
Yes — across the whole conurbation including West Bridgford, Beeston, Chilwell, Arnold, Carlton, Gedling, Hucknall, Bulwell, Clifton, Ruddington, Sherwood, Mapperley, Wollaton and Stapleford. There is no call-out charge anywhere in the area and every quote is free.
Do you offer one-off cuts as well as contracts?
Both. One-off cuts are welcome with no obligation to book anything further. That said, an annual or twice-yearly arrangement works out cheaper per visit, because the hedge never gets far enough out of hand to need the heavy reduction work that drives the price up.
Are you insured and qualified?
Yes. Our operatives are NPTC-certified, and we carry £5 million public liability insurance and full employer's liability cover. Certificates are available on request before work starts, and RAMS documentation is issued as standard for commercial and contract work.