Tree pruning in Sandwich & East Kent
Selective removal of dead, diseased or structurally unsound parts. The general tree work every mature garden tree needs on a cycle. Fixed price after photos, all wood chipped or logged and taken away. Happy or you don't pay.
Not the same as a haircut.
Pruning is targeted. We take out branches that are dead, crossing, rubbing, diseased, or growing where they'll cause a problem later. Everything else stays. Done right, the tree looks almost the same from the pavement: healthier, safer and set up for another ten years of good growth.
Two flavours
- Formative pruning: young trees, first ten years. We shape the framework early so the tree grows into a good structure. Cheaper to do now than to fix a co-dominant leader at twenty years old.
- Maintenance pruning: established trees, on a three-to-five-year cycle. Dead wood out, crossing branches out, epicormic growth off the trunk. Little and often keeps the tree stable and the surgeon bill low.
What we don't do: topping, lopping to a stub, or "just take a third off the top" without a plan. Those cuts damage the tree and land you with worse regrowth in three years.
Species we prune most around here
The soil profile around Sandwich swings from heavy marsh clay behind the town to lighter downland loam up towards Woodnesborough and Ash. That drives what's actually in your garden:
- Ash: everywhere in East Kent, and everywhere with dieback now. We prune for safety, cut back to healthy live wood and flag trees that need felling within the year. Chalara's advanced fast on the downland edge.
- Oak: the big ones on the older lanes. Pruned in winter only, never in the acute-oak-decline risk window (April–June).
- Sycamore & lime: the town-garden workhorses. Heavy, dense canopies, thin regularly.
- Silver birch: leaning-birch calls are our most common Strand Street job. Prune in late summer to avoid the sap-bleed window.
- Fruit trees: old apples, pears, plums in the back gardens off New Street and King Street. Winter for apples and pears; summer for plums and cherries.
Heritage buildings: plan the drops
Inside the walled town, the canopy often sits directly over Grade II-listed roofs and jettied timber-framed façades. We rig cuts down on lines rather than dropping them: slower, safer, and it means we don't put a scaffold pole through your neighbour's slate.
Pruning FAQs
How much does pruning cost?
£180 to £600 per tree. A single-stem birch or ornamental in a front garden with easy access is nearer the bottom. A mature sycamore hanging over the road with a rig-down job is nearer the top. Photos and a postcode get a fixed number back the same day.
Do I need a TPO application?
Only if the tree carries a TPO or sits inside a designated Sandwich conservation area. We check the Dover District Council map before we quote. If notice is needed, we file it: CA is six weeks, TPO is eight, and we quote the job knowing which window we're in.
Will you take the wood away?
Yes. Brash chipped on site into the truck; larger wood logged and either taken away or stacked in your garden if you burn. Included in the price, never a line-item on the day.
Do you carry insurance?
Yes: £5m public liability and £10m employer's. Certificate emailed with the quote if you want it before you agree.
Happy-or-you-don't-pay?
Same guarantee as the hedge work. If the tree doesn't look right when we're done, we're not done. You don't pay until you're happy walking out and looking at it.
Send a photo. We'll send a quote.
Photos of the tree, the surrounding buildings and your postcode. Same-day price, next available date.