Crown lifting in Surrey

Crown lifting raises the bottom of a tree's crown by removing its lowest branches, or shortening them back to suitable side branches. It gives clearance underneath the tree and lets more light reach the ground, while the rest of the crown stays as it is.

When crown lifting helps

• Driveways and parking: low branches that scrape vans and cars or get in the way of deliveries.
• Paths and pavements: branches at head height over a footpath. Trees next to a public road or pavement need to be kept clear of people and traffic.
• Lawns and borders: a lifted crown lets light and rain reach the ground beneath, so grass and plants grow better.
• Views and windows: opening up a view under the tree without taking anything off the top.
• Access: making room to mow, maintain a garden or get machinery past.

How we lift a crown

We agree the clearance you need first, measured from the ground. We then remove or shorten the lower branches to reach it, working evenly round the tree so it stays balanced.

On a mature tree we avoid removing large lower limbs where we can. Big cuts close to the trunk leave wounds that are slow to close and can let decay in. Often the better answer is to shorten a large low branch back to a side branch rather than take it off entirely, or to lift the crown gradually over a few visits. On a young tree, lifting a little at a time as it grows gives a clean trunk without large wounds later.

All our work follows BS3998, the British Standard for tree work, and we clear and remove everything we cut.

Timing

Crown lifting can be done for most of the year. As with all pruning, sap-bleeding species such as birch and maple are better cut in summer, and cherries and plums in summer to lower the risk of silver leaf. Between March and August we check for nesting birds before we start.

Protected trees

Lifting a tree with a Tree Preservation Order needs consent from the council, and most work on trees in a conservation area needs six weeks' notice. We can check this before booking the work.