Price of a tree pruning

By Sylvain Zaffini Updated on 01/19/2022

The price of a pruning is € 150 on average, with a range between € 70 and € 350. More specifically, it is estimated that the price of a pruning ranges from € 70 to € 115 for a tree less than 5m, from € 115 to € 150 for a plant of 10 to 15m and from € 275 to € 350 for a height of 15 to 20m.

Note: these indicative prices, from different specialized sources, take into account current standards.

The type and height of the tree are the main parameters that influence the cost of your tree pruning project. However, it is necessary to determine other elements in order to refine your budget :

• Waist style.
• Need for fruiting.
• Waste disposal.
• Location of the field.
• Location of the tree.

Estimate the price of your pruning using our detailed guide and have these works accurately quantified by a professional.

In this guide :

Regular pruning makes it possible to keep your trees healthy, to reduce their height or their foliage, to give them an aesthetic shape and to clear the view or technical elements. To ensure that your pruning is carried out in the right way and does not endanger your trees, a specialist can intervene. The latter can also be remunerated by the CESU system which gives you access to a tax credit.

Price of a tree pruning according to its height

The price of your tree pruning is largely conditioned by the elevation of the trees concerned. Not only does a tall tree require more work time and precautions, but it usually has more extensive foliage and therefore more branches to prune.

Price of pruning a tree according to its elevation

According to the IGN (National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information) 9% of French forests are state-owned, 16% public and 75% private. On a freshly built plot, we will be able to find wild and tall trees, which we will start pruning, while in an already elaborate garden we will find more fruit trees and hedges maintained for a long time.

Shaft less than 5m

The price of a pruning for a tree up to 5m is between 70 € and 115 €. If you prefer to know the hourly rate for pruning a tree less than 5m, know that it ranges from € 25 to € 45.

The most common trees in our gardens are between 2.5m and 10m. If the oak (up to 40m) is the most common tree in French forests, it does not populate the majority of private gardens.

Pleasure trees rarely exceed 5m, because they do not need to grow tall (no plant competition) and especially because they are regularly maintained.

The size of these trees below the 5m mark is important, because these plants generally have an aesthetic or pleasure vocation.

Tree from 5m to 10m

The price of pruning a tree from 5m to 10m varies from € 115 to € 150. Reduced to hourly pricing, the cost of pruning a tree from 5m to 10m can vary from € 35 to € 50.

Trees taller than 5m require more care when pruning them. Indeed, the elevation presents an obvious safety problem, which only a professional pruner can avoid during pruning.

These trees are mainly young oaks, walnut trees or softwoods that are pruned to clear the view or for aesthetic reasons.

The price of pruning trees of this height generally takes into account the intervention of a nacelle or, if necessary, a pruning craftsman. The total amount of the operation is often higher, due to the difficulty of access and possibly the more bulky volume of plant waste.

Tree from 10m to 15m

The price of pruning a tree from 10m to 15m ranges from € 150 to € 275. The hourly cost to prune a tree ranging from 10m to 15m is between € 45 and € 55 depending on the region.

The trees of 10 to 15m are generally adult trees with wide foliage (oaks, plane trees, conifers or other deciduous species).

According to IGN, of the 12.6 million trees in our country, more than 8 million are deciduous trees, including 3.5 million oaks. When these deniers are near certain elements, such as a swimming pool, or a fence, we take care not to let their foliage and their size become a source of problems.

In the majority of cases, the intervention of a climber pruner is preferable to the use of a nacelle, because of the large volume of foliage of these trees.

Tree from 15m to 20m (oak, walnut, etc.)

The price of a tree pruning with a height of 15m to 20m varies from € 275 to € 350. For these relatively tall trees, the hourly price of pruning is higher, on average from €50 to €65.

Linden, birch, yew, cypress, fir and many other trees can reach 20m if they are not pruned regularly.

The pruning of these trees makes it possible to reduce their size which may, in the long run, become problematic in front of power lines or for the neighborhood.

Shaft greater than 20m

The price of pruning a tree with a height of more than 20m is between € 350 and € 475, or even much more for very high heights. The work being more specialized and dangerous, the hourly costs are higher, generally count from € 60 to € 75.

Trees over 20m are rare in private gardens. However, it happens that a garden that has not been maintained for a long time can contain them.

The pruning rate is in this case much more important and the removal of plants will also increase the quote. Moreover, it is to avoid such costs that we recommend regular maintenance of its trees.

Price of a hedge trimmer

The price of a hedge trimmer usually ranges from €40 to €80. For these relatively simple works, there is an affordable hourly rate, on average from € 20 to € 35.

Hedges, which are often composed of shrubs and sometimes low-rise trees, must also be pruned regularly. Pruning or pruning work is then more often involved for aesthetic reasons or to promote the homogeneous growth of all the plants in the hedge.

Price of a palm size

The price of a palm tree pruning varies from € 60 to € 100. A pruner will be able to practice an hourly rate of € 25 to € 65 to ventilate a palm tree.

French palm trees are attacked by the red weevil, a parasite that, without the intervention of a professional, can kill the tree.

If you have palm trees in your garden, it is very important to have them inspected regularly and especially to have the crown cleaned. An annual maintenance is thus recommended.

Price of a fruit tree pruning (cherry, apple tree, etc.)

Regardless of the variety, it is estimated that the price of a fruit tree pruning is between € 95 and € 120. The price per hour to prune a fruit tree is affordable, from € 30 to € 50, but testifies to the specialization of the professional.

The pruning of fruit trees, and in particular of the olive tree, is based on a know-how that gardening professionals have mastered perfectly.

If you wish to prune your fruit trees in such a way as to facilitate the picking and improve the harvests, a specialist will be able to give you complete satisfaction.

Price of a tree pruning by type of pruning

If the height of your trees does not evoke anything to you, it may be easier for you to visualize your project by the purpose that pruning according to the type of pruning desired must bring.

• Maintenance pruning: This intervention is the most classic, it takes into account the cutting of dead branches and the pruning of some young branches. This cutting is carried out to maintain a shape and to clean the tree or hedge.
• Dead wood pruning: This service is the simplest, because it involves removing dead wood, branches broken by bad weather or damaged by diseases.
• Adaptation pruning: As the name suggests, it is a question here of adapting the tree to its environment: view to be cleared, power lines to be secured and adjoining parts to be respected.
• Thinning pruning: Thinning a tree means reducing the span of the foliage and the height of the crown. This pruning allows the tree to breathe better and hide the view less.
• Topping: Topping is to be reserved for the most extreme cases, because it involves shortening the crown of the tree. A topping is carried out when the tree is sick or when its height becomes dangerous.
• Tree Felling: When a tree is dead, or too damaged, it can be cut down. This operation to be reserved for a specialized company can be carried out in several ways depending on the configuration of the premises. See our article on this subject dedicated to estimating the price of a tree felling.

Carrying out a tree pruning: The intervention of a pruning company

Should we prune a tree abruptly or, on the contrary, shorten it little by little? A dilemma that can be answered by using a pruning company, an arborist or a company specializing in gardening.

• Severe pruning: severe pruning, or restructuring modifies and deeply injures the structure of the tree. It should only be carried out as a last resort and if the emergency requires it.
• Gentle pruning: This is a regular maintenance cut that allows the tree to be shaped gradually and not to damage it.
• The architectural size: This slightly different size has the mission of limiting the development of the tree. and/or to give it a particular shape. It is preferably carried out in a gentle way, when the tree does not yet have foliage.

Gardening tax credit: Reduce your pruning budget

It is possible to reduce the cost of your pruning by using a tax tool available to all individuals. The CESU (Universal Service Employment Vouchers) are a way to remunerate a craftsman or an independent professional as if he were your employee.

Thanks to the CESU it is possible to deduct up to 50% of the amount of your pruning quote from your taxes, under a ceiling of € 6,000.

If the pruning concerns a tree or a hedge less than 3m high, then it is considered garden maintenance. As such, he can give you access to this subsidy even if you are not taxable, the amount will then be credited to you.

Be careful, because pruning work at a higher height cannot be remunerated by the CESU for reasons of safety of the pruner.

Get quotes: Specify the cost of your work

To determine precisely the cost of your tree pruning, it is necessary to have it quantified by a professional close to you. We advise you to get several quotes in order to compare prices and choose the craftsman who meets your expectations.

Prefer to call on a professional, a gardener, an arborist or a pruner, who will know how to maintain your tree at the right times, in complete safety and following the correct pruning frequency.

Example of a tree pruning quote: Standard costing

Let’s take the example of a large conifer about 6 meters high. The owner wanted to reduce it to a height of 2 meters. The pruning quote came to the price of € 250, with pruning, skidding, disposal in a waste center and travel expenses.

Another example is that of a 50m long shrub hedge (3.5m high and 2.5m wide) which had to be generously pruned. The pruning estimate amounted to € 500, taking into account the displacement and removal of dead wood and waste.

Once again, the CESU have made it possible to reduce the price of pruning to € 250.

The costs associated with carrying out a pruning

Your work may require other related services. Depending on your wishes, other positions will have to be taken into account in your pruning quote.

• Evacuation of plants: The volume of cut plants is frequently underestimated, which must be disposed of properly. If, as is often the case, making a fire is not allowed by law, it is necessary to take the waste to the garbage disposal. For an additional amount, the pruner in charge of your work can take the plants away and dispose of them properly for you. The price usually varies from 25€/m3 to 35€/m3.
• Desiccation: In the case of a tree felling, you can request a desiccation, so as to completely and quickly free the space where the tree was located. All pruning companies generally offer this service.
• Garden maintenance: Even if you have a gardening specialist in your land, why not entrust him with the maintenance of your plot? Lawn mowing, brush cutting or planting, gardeners can transform your land into a real Garden of Eden.
• Hedge: If your plants have just been cut down, it is possible that there is now a hole in your fence. The professional who will have carried out the work will no doubt be able to offer you to elegantly fill this opening. It will be enough to add the price of the hedge to your quote to have complete works.

At what times of the year should we prune?

Pruning a tree or shrub at the wrong time can create problems, reduce fruit production or even deeply damage the tree.

Plants have ideal pruning periods, depending on the desired goals.

Deciduous trees are usually pruned after their leaves have fallen, in the fall. However, it is increasingly recommended to postpone this cut until the end of spring, as the healing is more effective. However, care must be taken to avoid cutting during the sap rise.

Pome fruit trees (apples, pear trees, etc.) are pruned during the winter out of frosts, while stone fruit trees can be pruned “green”, during the harvest.

The regulations concerning pruning

There are specific rules regarding the pruning of trees. The owner is always responsible for the pruning of his trees if they protrude on a road, a path or touch a power line. If the landlord is a lessor, the tenant is obliged to carry out the pruning, even if any complaints can only be filed against the landlord.

Pruning can be the source of neighborhood conflicts, yet the law is clear. If your tree, or your hedge protrudes on your neighbor’s land, then the latter may require the pruning of his side of the land, but cannot carry it out himself.

In the case of adjoining plants, the pruning must be carried out by one, the other or both parties concerned. The laws in force are stipulated in articles 670 to 673 of the Civil Code.

What is the price of a tree pruning?

The price of a tree pruning can range from € 70 to € 350 depending on the height and the waste removal costs.

What is the best time to prune your trees?

You can prune your trees at the end of spring, in the fall or during the winter, in any case outside the period of sap rise.

What does it cost to prune an oak tree?

The cost to prune an oak tree is between € 275 and € 350, excluding the intervention of specialized equipment, such as a nacelle.

What is the price to prune a 15m tree?

The price for pruning a 15m high tree varies from € 250 to € 300 depending on the extent of the work, the machines to be implemented and the mass of plants to be evacuated.