Selective pruning: the general work every mature tree needs on a cycle.

Formative vs maintenance pruning

Formative pruning is the early work on a young tree: first 5 to 10 years after planting: that sets its long-term shape. Removing crossing branches, encouraging a single central leader (or a balanced multi-stem, depending on species), and clearing the lower trunk to the intended crown-lift height. Do this properly on years 1 to 5 and you save a big reduction bill in year 20.

Maintenance pruning is the ongoing work on established trees. Dead, dying, diseased or damaged branches removed on a cycle (every 3 to 5 years for most garden species). Any branch that has grown across another and is chafing the bark. Any water-sprout (an upright shoot from an old cut) that has taken over. Nothing structural, just keeping the tree in the shape you started with.

Species notes for Dover gardens

• Ash: check for ash dieback (Chalara) before any work. East Kent is heavily affected; a lot of Dover-district ash is now in mid- to late-stage decline. Once dieback is advanced the wood becomes brittle and unsafe for climbing; the job becomes a fell rather than a prune. We do the assessment as part of the quote.
• Beech and hornbeam: prune in late summer (August). Both bleed heavily if cut in spring. On the thin chalk rendzinas up on the Capel and St Margaret's plateau, beech is drought-stressed by July, so late-summer cuts also let you see the year's stress before you commit.
• Sycamore, lime, London plane: the standard mature-garden trees across Buckland, Tower Hamlets and the older Maxton streets. All three tolerate winter pruning well. Lime especially throws water-sprouts after any cut and needs a return visit 12–18 months later to clean those up.
• Holm oak (Quercus ilex): common on clifftop and coastal plots for its salt tolerance. Prune in late spring after new growth hardens. Slow to respond, so light touches only.
• Fruit trees (apple, pear, plum): apple and pear in winter (December to early March) for shape, mid-summer for fruit; plum only in summer (silver-leaf fungus enters winter wounds). Common in older River, Kearsney and Temple Ewell gardens.
• Cherry (Prunus): summer only, same silver-leaf reason as plum. Short campaign windows in June and July.

Pricing

Most single-tree prune-and-clear jobs in Dover fall in the £180 – £600 range. A mature garden lime or sycamore with a full maintenance prune plus arisings chipped and cleared is closer to the top of that range; a small ornamental fruit tree at the bottom. We quote a fixed price after seeing photos and the postcode: no day-rate creep.

Before we cut

Every quote checks three things: (a) is the tree in a Dover District Council conservation area (Dover has 57, including the town centre, Waterloo Crescent, St Margaret's Bay and Kingsdown), (b) does it have a Tree Preservation Order, and (c) is the plot inside or bordering the White Cliffs SSSI or the Kent Downs National Landscape. Any of the three means paperwork before the chainsaw runs: six weeks' section-211 notice for a CA tree over 75 mm, a full consent application for a TPO tree, plus a Natural England consultation if SSSI-adjacent. We file all of it.