What's wrong with my tree?
Pick what you can see. You get the likely fix, how urgent it is and whether you need permission, with a free visit one tap away.
Size and light
Health and safety
Hedges, stumps and ground
Paperwork
Pick a problem
Choose the closest match from the list and the tree will show you what's going on and how we'd put it right.
Every problem, in plain words
The same answers as a list, for when you'd rather read than tap. General guidance for trees in England; a visit is the only way to be sure about yours.
Size and light
My tree is too tall or too wide
It has outgrown its space: shading the garden, brushing the roof or crowding the neighbours.
Likely fix: Crown reduction
We shorten the outer branches back to suitable growth points, so the whole crown ends up smaller but keeps its natural shape. Cutting straight across the top, known as topping, is what to avoid: it leaves large wounds and weak, fast regrowth. All reductions are done to British Standard BS3998.
My tree is blocking the light
The garden or the back rooms have got darker as the crown has filled out.
Likely fix: Crown thinning
We remove selected inner branches so more light and wind pass through. The tree keeps its height and outline. Where thinning alone won't make enough difference, lifting the lower branches or a light reduction usually does, and we'll say which on the visit.
Low branches are in the way
Branches hang over the lawn, path, drive or shed, or catch high vehicles.
Likely fix: Crown lifting
We remove the lowest branches to raise the canopy. You get headroom and more light underneath without changing the top of the tree. If branches overhang a pavement or road, the council can require you to cut them back.
It's hanging over the boundary
Branches from one garden reach well into the next.
Likely fix: Cutting back to the boundary
You may cut back branches that overhang your side, but only to the boundary line, and the cuttings still belong to the tree's owner, so offer them back. You can't go onto their land or cut further without permission. We reduce that side evenly so the tree isn't left lopsided.
It's too close to the house
Branches touch the roof, gutters or walls, or you're worried about the roots.
Likely fix: Reduction or removal
Branches rubbing on a building are cut back to give clearance, usually with a reduction on that side. If you're worried about roots and the foundations, get advice before removing a large tree: on clay soils, taking out a mature tree can make the ground swell. If cracks have appeared in the house, tell your insurer as well.
Health and safety
There are dead branches in my tree
Bare, brittle branches with no leaves in summer, or bark falling away.
Likely fix: Deadwood removal
Dead branches can drop without warning, most often in wind. We climb the tree and remove the deadwood back to living wood. Over a garden, path, drive or road it's worth doing soon. Some deadwood is normal in a mature tree, so one dead branch doesn't mean the tree is dying.
A branch has snapped and is hanging
A broken branch is caught up in the crown or hanging by a strip of bark.
Likely fix: Emergency make-safe
A hung-up branch can come down at any moment. Keep people, pets and cars out from under it and call us. We bring it down under control and tidy the tear back to a clean cut.
My tree is leaning
The trunk is off vertical.
Likely fix: Tree assessment
Plenty of trees grow with a lean and stand for decades. What matters is change. A lean that is new, or soil that is cracked or lifting on the side away from the lean, means the roots may be moving: keep clear and call us straight away. For a long-standing lean we check the roots, the base and the crown, then advise. Often the answer is a reduction to take weight off, sometimes removal.
There's fungus growing on my tree
Brackets on the trunk or mushrooms around the roots.
Likely fix: Tree assessment
Some fungi are harmless. Others, such as honey fungus and several of the bracket fungi, rot the roots or the base of the trunk and can leave a tree unstable while the crown still looks healthy. Photograph the fungus before it fades, because that helps identify it. We check how far any decay has gone and tell you whether the tree can be kept, reduced or needs to come down.
There's a crack or split in the trunk
A split running down the trunk, or opening where two stems fork.
Likely fix: Tree assessment
A crack means the wood is failing under load. Tight V-shaped forks are a common weak point. If the crack is open, moving in the wind or above somewhere people use, keep clear and call us. Depending on what we find, we reduce the weight above the crack or remove the limb or the tree.
The leaves are thin or the top is bare
Small or sparse leaves, dead twigs at the tips, or autumn colour weeks early.
Likely fix: Tree assessment
This is dieback: the tree is under stress from drought, root damage, compacted ground or disease. In ash trees it is often ash dieback, which is now widespread across Dorset and Hampshire and leaves the wood brittle. We work out the cause and whether the tree is safe to keep. Affected ash near roads, paths and buildings usually needs reducing or removing before it gets worse.
Roots are lifting my drive or paving
Slabs, tarmac or the lawn are being pushed up near the tree.
Likely fix: Tree assessment
Cutting through roots can kill a tree or leave it unstable, so get advice before anyone takes a saw or a digger to them. Options include relaying the surface over the roots, careful root pruning, or removing the tree and grinding out the stump.
My tree is covered in ivy
Ivy has climbed the trunk and is spreading into the crown.
Likely fix: Ivy removal
Ivy doesn't feed on the tree, but heavy growth adds weight, catches the wind and hides defects we'd want to see. We cut it at the base and strip it from the trunk. Ivy is good for wildlife, so on a sound tree it can be fine to leave some.
A tree has fallen or been damaged in a storm
A tree or large limb is down, split or resting on something.
Likely fix: 24-hour emergency call-out
Keep well clear and don't try to cut it yourself. Fallen timber is under tension and can spring or roll when it's cut. If it has brought down power lines, stay back and call 105. Call us on 01202 022560 at any hour: we make the area safe, clear the tree and take it away.
Hedges, stumps and ground
My hedge has got too tall
It's shading the garden, or it's too high to trim from the ground.
Likely fix: Hedge reduction
We take the height down and square it off. Leylandii and most other conifers don't regrow from old brown wood, so they can't be cut back hard: we reduce them to where there's still green growth. If a neighbour's evergreen hedge over two metres is blocking your light and you can't agree, the council can step in under the high hedges rules.
My hedge is overgrown
It has lost its shape and is spreading over the path, lawn or boundary.
Likely fix: Hedge trimming
Precision cutting for every type and height of hedge, from garden boundaries to large commercial sites. Cut square, clippings cleared, site left immaculate. If it's beyond saving we also do full hedge removal.
There's a stump left in my garden
An old stump is in the way, sprouting, or you want the space back.
Likely fix: Stump grinding
Our tracked Predator grinder is narrow enough for tight garden access. We grind the stump below surface level and backfill with the chippings, so you can turf, plant or pave over it. Grinding also stops regrowth from species that sprout from the stump.
The whole garden or plot is overgrown
Scrub, brambles and self-seeded trees have taken over.
Likely fix: Site clearance
Full clearance of scrub, saplings and unwanted trees for homeowners, developers, landowners and builders. All waste removed, leaving the site level and ready.
I want the tree taken down
It's in the wrong place, past its best, or you need the space.
Likely fix: Sectional dismantling
Most garden trees stand too close to houses, fences and roads to be felled in one piece, so our climbers take them down in sections on ropes and lower each piece under control. Where there is room, we fell the tree in one controlled piece. Either way the timber is cleared and the stump can be ground out.
Paperwork
My tree has a TPO or is in a conservation area
The council has protected the tree, or you live in a conservation area.
Likely fix: TPO applications
A Tree Preservation Order means you need the council's written consent before pruning or felling. Applying is free and councils aim to decide within eight weeks. In a conservation area you give six weeks' written notice for any tree with a trunk more than 75mm across, measured 1.5m above the ground. We handle the applications with Dorset Council and BCP Council on your behalf.
Tree down? Call now.
Storm damage, fallen trees and dangerous limbs. Fast response across Bournemouth, Poole, Dorset and Hampshire, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Not sure? We'll come and look
A tree assessment is free. We look at the tree, tell you what it needs and give you a clear written quote if there's work to do.
- Free, no-obligation site visit and written quote
- NPTC & City & Guilds qualified arborists
- £5M public liability insurance, documents on request
- All work to British Standard BS3998
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