Crown reduction in Surrey

Crown reduction makes a tree smaller while keeping it looking like the same tree. We shorten the branches all round the crown, cutting each one back to a healthy side branch or bud, so the tree keeps its natural outline and carries on growing in a balanced way.

When a crown reduction makes sense

• Too close to a building: branches touching a roof, gutters or windows, or heading that way.
• Too much shade: a tree that has outgrown a garden and darkens the house or lawn.
• Wind loading: a large crown on an exposed site catches more wind, and a reduction takes some of that strain off the trunk and roots.
• Weak or damaged trees: a tree with decay or an old wound can sometimes be kept safely by reducing the weight it carries.
• Overhanging a boundary: bringing branches back from a neighbour's property or a road.

How we reduce a crown

We start by looking at the tree as a whole: its species, health, age and how it has grown. That tells us how much it can lose without harm. Some species respond well to reduction; others, such as beech and birch, tolerate much less, and a heavy cut can leave them stressed or decaying.

We then cut each branch back to a growth point that can take over as the new tip. This is the difference between a crown reduction and topping. Topping cuts branches off at an arbitrary height, which leaves large stubs, invites decay and produces a mass of weak regrowth. A proper reduction keeps the tree healthy and needs less work in future.

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

Timing

Most trees are best reduced in late autumn or winter, when they are dormant and easier to see through. Some species, such as birch, maple and walnut, bleed sap if cut in late winter or spring, so we work on those in summer. Cherries and plums are pruned in summer to lower the risk of silver leaf disease.

From March to August we check every tree for nesting birds before we start. Active nests are protected by law, and work waits until the young have left.

Protected trees

If your tree has a Tree Preservation Order, the council has to give consent before it is reduced. In a conservation area, you need to give the council six weeks' notice of most tree work. We can check this for you and help with the application or notice before any work is booked.