Tree Pruning for Caerphilly Gardens

Trees in Caerphilly gardens tend to fall into two groups. Behind the older semis there are trees and conifer screens planted decades ago, when the gardens were young, that have now outgrown the plot. On the newer estates the trees are younger and smaller, often planted by the developer, but they are growing quickly and some were put in spots that made sense on a plan rather than in a family garden.

Both groups usually need pruning rather than felling. This guide covers what we typically look at in Caerphilly gardens, how to decide what to take off, when to do it, and the checks to make first. It is the local companion to our tree surgery and hedge care page.

Start with what the tree is doing to the garden

Before anyone picks up a saw, it helps to be clear about the problem. "The tree is too big" can mean several different things, and each has a different answer.

• Too much shade on the lawn or patio: thinning the crown or lifting the lower branches lets more light through without changing the tree's shape much.
• Branches over the house, shed or a neighbour's garden: selective reduction or cutting back from the structure.
• Low branches in the way of the path or the car: crown lifting.
• Dead, split or rubbing limbs: removing them is good for the tree and makes the garden safer.
• A tree that is simply wrong for the space: sometimes felling and replanting with something smaller is kinder in the long run.

The terms are explained in crown lifting, thinning and reduction explained. If you are weighing up whether a tree should stay at all, read tree felling or pruning.

The conifer behind the older semi

Fast-growing conifers were a popular way to get privacy quickly, and plenty of mature Caerphilly gardens still have a row of them along the back or side boundary. Left alone they can grow very tall, take the light and moisture from everything near them, and become hard to manage.

The catch with many conifers is that they do not regrow from old brown wood. Cut back too hard into the bare interior and the tree may stay brown on that side for good. That means the height can often be reduced, but the width has to be managed with care, little and often. Where a screen has already gone too far, replacing it with a new hedge or a new fence can be the better option. Our guide to hedge trimming covers keeping a younger screen in shape.

Young trees on newer estates

Newer estates around Caerphilly, like many elsewhere, often have small ornamental trees such as birch, rowan or cherry in the front and back gardens. They look neat at first, but ten or fifteen years on some are pushing against gutters or shading a small garden more than anyone expected.

Young trees respond well to light, formative pruning. Taking out crossing branches, lifting the lowest limbs and keeping one clear leading stem is far easier while the tree is small, and it saves heavy cutting later. Before you prune a tree on a newer development, check the deeds or any landscaping conditions, as some estate trees were planted as part of the planning approval and may have rules attached to them.

Branches over the fence

On closely built streets, a tree in one garden often hangs over the next. In general you can cut back branches that overhang your side of the boundary, but only up to the boundary line, and the tree still belongs to your neighbour. Talking to them first avoids a lot of bad feeling, and often means the whole tree can be pruned properly and evenly in one go rather than hacked flat on one side.

It is also worth knowing that heavy one-sided cutting can leave a tree unbalanced. If a neighbour's tree is a real problem, we can explain what sensible pruning would look like so you have something concrete to discuss.

Timing the work

Most deciduous garden trees can be pruned in late autumn and winter, when they are dormant and you can see the branch structure clearly. Some trees, such as cherries and plums, are usually better pruned in summer to reduce the risk of disease, and a few, such as birch, bleed sap if they are cut in late winter and early spring. We go into more detail in when should trees be pruned?.

Birds nest in garden trees, hedges and conifers through spring and summer, and it is an offence to disturb an active nest. We check before cutting and, if birds are nesting, the work waits.

Checks to make before pruning

Some trees are protected by a tree preservation order, and trees in a conservation area also need notice given to the council before most work. Parts of the town around the castle and the old centre may be covered, so if you are unsure, check with Caerphilly County Borough Council before any work is done. Our guide Do You Need Permission to Cut Down a Tree in Wales? explains the basics.

It is also sensible to look up and around. Trees near overhead cables, or growing close to the house or a boundary wall, need extra care, and some work near power lines should only be carried out by the network operator.

What happens on the day

On a typical Caerphilly job, access is usually down the side path of a semi or through a side gate on an estate home. We protect lawns and paving, lower larger pieces carefully rather than dropping them, and take the brash and logs away. You can read the full sequence in what happens on the day a tree surgeon visits.

If the pruning is part of a bigger change to the garden, it is best done first, before any new lawn or paving goes down. Our guide to garden clearance before a Caerphilly makeover covers the order of work, and our tree surgery in Caerphilly page and Caerphilly landscaping page show the rest of what we do locally. For free advice on a particular tree, send us a message with a photo and Tony will arrange a visit.

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