Is it cheaper to get trees pruned in Winters?

kaboo

Hi everyone,
We were looking to have tree/crown pruning reduction on 2 trees in our garden. They are from the Fir family - exact variety I dont know but perhaps Cyprus. Plan was to get them done in March/April this year. But considering how everything is suddenly going expensive, we are thinking of postponing this for Autumn or Early Winter. Would it be much cheaper at that time of the year? We live in Oxfordshire and have been quoted 450-500 for end of March/April.

Cheers

Section62

kaboo said:

We were looking to have tree/crown pruning reduction on 2 trees in our garden. They are from the Fir family - exact variety I dont know but perhaps Cyprus. Plan was to get them done in March/April this year. But considering how everything is suddenly going expensive, we are thinking of postponing this for Autumn or Early Winter. Would it be much cheaper at that time of the year? We live in Oxfordshire and have been quoted 450-500 for end of March/April.

More important to get pruning done at the right time of year for the species, and also avoiding bird nesting season.

A competent/reputable tree surgeon would advise on the best time of year for your trees, rather than slotting the job in when they haven't got any other work.  Someone like this won't change their prices much by season because they will always have work to do.

Dealing the the after affects of the storms of the last few months means there's a lot of work on at the moment - unless you have an urgent need it is probably best to wait, otherwise you have a greater risk of finding a cowboy.

kaboo

Section62 said:

A competent/reputable tree surgeon would advise on the best time of year for your trees, rather than slotting the job in when they haven't got any other work.  Someone like this won't change their prices much by season because they will always have work to do.

Dealing the the after affects of the storms of the last few months means there's a lot of work on at the moment - unless you have an urgent need it is probably best to wait, otherwise you have a greater risk of finding a cowboy.

Thanks. Its cypress, so early spring or late autumn are a good time. Hence I thought is it better to wait for Autumn if its going to be ~20% cheaper. Otherwise I get it done now and enjoy extra light in my garden and home. 

EssexExile

Birds are already nesting here in the Midlands so it's too late for now, it would have to wait until the autumn. Contact people in plenty of time, we had to wait several weeks last year before they could fit us in.

twopenny

It won't be cheaper next autumn but it is the right time to do it and not cause die back.
Keep in mind that if you top the trees there will be new growth of 3 or 4 smaller growths growing from the top. 
If you want to keep a good shape get someone professional. 
I had emergency work done by someone and despite the original price quoted it cost me more in than the local tree surgery company because I was impatient. A dreadful job too. Never again.