Hedge trimming: a guide for pros

What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.

Offering hedge trimming

Hedge trimming is a steady recurring service where the shape and timing decide the hedge's health. Your value is in knowing the species, cutting to the right profile and keeping the cleanup clean.

What customers ask

  • How tall and how wide will you cut my hedge?
  • Will the hedge look bare if you cut it back?
  • How often do I need to trim it?
  • Can you take out the dead branches on the same visit?
  • Do you haul the clippings away?
  • Will the hedge grow back fast enough for privacy?

How to win the job

  • On the first call, ask the customer what the hedge is for, such as privacy, a walkway or a clean line, then ask the species and the last time it was cut.
  • Walk the hedge and check for dead wood, gaps and pests before quoting, and tell the customer what you see.
  • Put the hedge list, the target height and width, the cut-back plan and the cleanup in the written quote.
  • Set a string line or use a level on site, and show the customer the profile you are cutting to before you cut the whole hedge.
  • Show before and after photos of hedges on your profile, taken from the same angle and distance.
  • Explain the timing for the species, and set a reminder for the next trim so the hedge keeps its shape.

What to put on your profile

  • Before and after photos of hedges, shot from the same spot
  • The hedge species you trim most often and the timing you use for each
  • Your tools, such as hand shears, trimmers and lift equipment, with safety gear noted
  • The areas you serve and whether you offer recurring schedules

Follow-up that helps the customer

  • Send a reminder before the next trim, with the timing that suits the species
  • Offer a health check of the hedge in spring to look for winter damage and gaps
  • Suggest a planting plan for filling gaps if the hedge has thinned out, and let the customer decide

Licenses and permits

Hedge trimming alone is commonly not licensed; work near power lines, lifts or tree-like cutting may need separate licenses or training in some areas. Check with your state or local licensing agency before you take those jobs.

Questions

Do I need a license for hedge trimming?

Ground-level hedge trimming is commonly not licensed. Work near power lines, from lifts, or involving tree cutting can fall under separate rules. Check with your state or local licensing agency.

How do I tell a customer their hedge will not regrow?

Look at the wood on the cut face and the buds below it. If the species does not resprout from old wood, say so before you cut, and offer a replacement plan so the customer can decide.

What is the best way to keep the top even?

Set a string line or use a level on both ends, and check the line from a few angles as you go. Show the customer how you checked it, since the line is what makes the trim look even.

About this guide

This national guide is written and checked by infinibell. Rules and conditions differ by place, so local pros are credited on guides for the cities they serve, not on national ones.

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