For most trees in most gardens, the best time for felling, heavy reduction and structural pruning is the dormant season, roughly November to February. The tree is not in leaf, so the structure is visible and the work is faster, there is no active bird nesting to work around, and the tree has the whole spring to respond. That is the default, not a rule. A handful of species want the opposite: cherries and plums are pruned in summer, birch and maple are better cut in autumn or early winter than in spring. And a dangerous tree is dealt with whenever it is found, in any month, because a defect does not wait for a convenient season.
This guide is general information, not legal advice.
The dormant season, November to February
Leafless trees are easier and cheaper to work on. A climber can see where the branches go, a reduction can be set out properly against the visible framework, and there is less weight and less waste to handle. Ground conditions are often the only drawback: a soft lawn in January is easily churned by a chipper.
This is the window for the big jobs. Tree felling, tree removal, heavy crown reduction, pollarding and hedge removal all sit here comfortably. It is also the cheapest time to get a slot in most years, before the spring rush.
The nesting bird season, roughly March to August
This is the one legal constraint that catches people out. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is an offence to intentionally damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built, or to take or destroy the eggs. That applies to trees as much as to hedges, and it applies whoever owns the tree.
The main nesting season runs from roughly March to August, with some species nesting into September and a few, such as woodpigeon, nesting well outside it. Nothing in the law says you cannot do tree work in June. What it says is that you must not destroy an active nest, which in practice means checking properly before work starts and stopping if a nest is found. A competent crew will walk the tree first and will down tools if they find one, which is a sign of a good contractor rather than an obstruction.
If your work is a hedge rather than a tree, the position and the separate farming rules are set out in hedge cutting and the nesting season. Bats add another layer: they are protected separately, they roost in cavities and under loose bark, and suspected bat presence stops work until it is resolved.
Species that bleed if cut in spring
Some trees push sap hard in late winter and early spring, and a cut made then weeps for weeks. The RHS lists birch, walnut, maple, hornbeam, laburnum, magnolia, mulberry, poplar, lime and grape vine among those prone to bleeding, and says the sap of grape vine, birch and walnut begins to rise very early (RHS: bleeding from pruning cuts).
The practical timing that follows is:
- Birch and Japanese maples: prune in autumn or early winter.
- Walnut and deciduous magnolia: prune between mid-summer and early autumn.
Bleeding is usually unsightly rather than harmful, and the RHS advice is to let cuts heal naturally rather than paint or bandage them. But a birch that weeps all March in a front garden is an avoidable annoyance, and the fix is simply picking a different month.
Species pruned in summer to avoid disease
Cherries, plums and other Prunus are pruned in summer, not winter, to avoid silver leaf. Silver leaf is a fungal disease, Chondrostereum purpureum, that enters through wounds. The RHS says spores are released mainly in the autumn and winter months under damp conditions, and advises routine pruning of susceptible plants in summer, because there are fewer spores and wounds heal more quickly (RHS: silver leaf). Plums, apples, apricots and cherries are named as particularly affected. Late spring to mid-summer is the usual window, with established plums often pruned once the young shoots have finished growing in July.
Fireblight-prone species are the other group to think about. Fireblight is a bacterial disease affecting apples, pears and related ornamentals including Cotoneaster, Sorbus (rowan), Crataegus (hawthorn), Photinia and Pyracantha. The RHS says damage occurs from late spring until autumn, with infection entering through blossom in warm, wet, windy weather (RHS: fireblight). The sensible time to prune these is outside the blossom period and outside warm wet spells, which in practice means late summer or the dormant season, and to disinfect tools between cuts on anything that looks infected.
Evergreens and conifers are generally best left until growth is underway rather than cut hard in deep winter. A Leylandii hedge cut hard into old brown wood will not regrow whatever the month, which is covered in Leylandii hedge removal.
A month-by-month summary
| Period | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| November to February | Felling, heavy reduction, structural pruning, pollarding, hedge removal | Soft ground; avoid birch, maple and other bleeders late in this window |
| March | Last of the dormant work early in the month | Nesting season begins; sap rising in bleeders |
| April to June | Light work with a proper nest check; pruning of plums and cherries from late May | Active nests; peak fireblight infection period |
| July to August | Prunus pruning; walnut and magnolia; formative work | Nests still active into August; full leaf means more waste and more cost |
| September to October | Birch and Japanese maple; fireblight-prone species; general tidying | Nothing significant |
| Any month | Dangerous trees, storm damage, dead and hanging limbs | Nest law still applies; protected trees still need consent |
Storm season, demand and price
Availability matters as much as biology. Autumn and winter gales generate a wave of emergency calls, and a run of named storms can absorb every crew in the region for a fortnight. In those weeks, planned work slips and prices firm up, because the crews that are free are the ones travelling furthest.
The quiet months are typically late winter after the storms and before the spring rush, and again in the deep of summer when the big jobs are on hold. If your work is not urgent, booking out of the peak usually gets you a better date and a keener price. See storm-damaged tree: who is responsible and what to do for what to do when the wind has already done the pruning.
Dangerous trees do not wait
None of the above applies to a tree with a real defect. A fungal bracket at the base, a fresh crack in a main fork, a lifted root plate or a hanging limb over a path is dealt with as soon as it is found. Doing a reduction in July because the alternative is leaving a cracked limb over a driveway until December is the right call. If you are not sure whether what you are looking at is urgent, ten signs a tree needs attention is a ground-level checklist.
Plan ahead if the tree is protected
Permission is the reason to start early rather than the reason to delay. If your tree has a Tree Preservation Order, the council has eight weeks to decide an application. If it is in a conservation area without a TPO, you give six weeks' notice under section 211 and can then proceed if the council has not made an order. Add time to find out which applies and to prepare the application, and a January job needs starting in the autumn.
Start with how to check if a tree has a TPO and trees in conservation areas. The exemptions for dead and genuinely dangerous trees exist, but they are narrow, and the notice requirements still apply.
What it costs
Our indicative price ranges do not change with the season, though availability does. Waste is included.
| Job | Small (under 5m) | Medium (5–10m) | Large (10–15m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crown reduction | £220–£300 | £320–£480 | £480–£750 |
| Pruning, crown lift or crown thin | £180–£280 | £280–£400 | £400–£600 |
| Tree removal | £280–£380 | £480–£720 | £850–£1,400 |
| Stump grinding on its own | £120–£180 | £180–£280 | £280–£400 |
There is a £150 job minimum, and anything over £1,200, over 15m, over a road, near cables or touching a building goes to a free survey.
Getting it booked
We are an introducer: we pass your enquiry to one vetted local tree surgeon who covers your area, and they confirm a fixed price and a date. Start with tree surgery prices across Birmingham, or go straight to crown reduction and the crown reduction cost guide, or tree removal and the tree removal cost guide. If the job is really a clearance, see garden clearance and best time to clear a garden. Read what to photograph for a tree quote before you enquire.
Questions
Can tree surgeons work during the nesting season?
Yes. There is no closed season for tree work. What the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits is damaging or destroying an active nest, so the crew must check the tree before starting and stop if they find one. Expect a good contractor to say so up front, and to be willing to postpone non-urgent work if a nest turns up.
Is it cheaper to have a tree cut down in winter?
Often, slightly. Leafless trees are quicker to dismantle and produce less green waste, and the weeks after the autumn storms and before the spring rush are usually the easiest to book. The bigger saving is booking early rather than calling round on the day the wind drops.
When should I not prune a cherry or plum tree?
Avoid autumn and winter. The RHS advises pruning susceptible plants in summer because there are fewer silver leaf spores about at that time and pruning wounds heal more quickly. Late spring to mid-summer is the usual window for plums and cherries, with established trees often done in July.
How long before the work do I need to sort out permission?
Allow at least two to three months for a protected tree. A Tree Preservation Order application takes the council up to eight weeks to decide, and a conservation area notice runs for six weeks before you can proceed. Checking which applies takes a few days in itself.