The 1970s leylandii rows, reduced without killing them.

What's included

• Assessment of how much green growth remains and how hard a cut the hedge can safely take
• A staged plan where the hedge needs it (see below), each stage quoted separately
• All arisings cleared - conifer waste is bulky and heavy, and this is usually the single biggest line on a leylandii job
• Honest advice if a section is beyond saving and should be replaced rather than reduced

The cost breakdown

A single-stage conifer reduction typically runs £260 – £700. A two-stage reduction on a badly overgrown row runs the same total cost split across two visits roughly a year apart.

A row over roughly 4m needs a site visit before we confirm a figure. Two-stage jobs are quoted as two separate invoices, not one lump sum up front.

Why we won't cut into brown wood and call it done

Leylandii and thuja carry their green needles only in the outer 30-60cm of growth. Cut back past that zone and the wood underneath stays brown permanently - it will not regenerate. A cheap "hard cut" that promises a big height drop in one visit usually means exactly that: brown, dead-looking wood on show for a year or more, sometimes forever if the cut was severe enough. We stage instead, taking the hedge to an intermediate height, letting the sides fill in over a growing season, then dropping to final height. It costs the same total but spreads it across two invoices and gets a hedge you'll actually want to keep, rather than one you'll want to replace.