Hedge trimming in Lapalud and the northern Vaucluse

When to do it

The main trim is done from late August to November. A maintenance trim is possible in spring, after flowering for flowering hedges. Between mid-March and the end of July, both the regulations and common sense require checking for nesting birds before starting: Josué checks every time and postpones the job if necessary.

What it costs

The length in metres, the height, how many faces need trimming, the species (a cypress takes longer than a privet), the starting condition — a hedge kept up every year costs far less than a recovery — and the volume of waste to take away.

How it is priced

Per linear metre — the trade’s unit, and the one you will find everywhere. But a linear metre means nothing on its own: it is always crossed with the height and the number of faces to cut.

What a quote is made of

The run

The length of hedge, measured on site. It is the basis of the calculation, and the one figure you can give over the phone with a tape in your hand.

The height

Below about a metre and a half the work is done from the ground. Above two metres it needs a rolling tower or a platform, and the time doubles.

The number of faces

One face, two faces, or two faces and the top. Plenty of quotes forget to say which, and it is the item that causes the most disagreement.

The species

Privet cuts quickly, Leyland cypress fights back and clogs the blades, cherry laurel produces a volume of waste unrelated to its length.

Where it starts from

A hedge kept every year and one rescued after ten years of neglect are not priced the same — the second sometimes needs two passes a year apart.

The waste

How much there is to move, and how far to the vehicle. On a cypress hedge brought back down, it is often the heaviest item on the quote.

What the market charges

Comparison sites commonly quote a few euros per linear metre for a low, single-face hedge, and up to around fifteen euros per metre for a tall hedge cut on three faces with waste removed. What matters is the ratio: between those extremes, the price multiplies by four or five for the same length.

These figures are taken from national comparison sites. They are not PJ Espaces Verts’ rates: Josué prices after seeing the job, and his quote may fall outside these ranges either way. They are here so you are not calling in the dark.

A hedge is quoted by the metre, once it has been seen: its height, its species and the number of faces to work on change the time involved completely. The quote is written, free, and states what is included — green-waste removal is, unless stated otherwise.

The 50% tax credit: what to know

Small gardening jobs at a private home fall under France’s personal services scheme: half the cost comes back to the householder as a tax credit, up to an annual ceiling per household, and an immediate-advance option means paying only half the invoice at the time. The catch is that the work has to fall inside that category — and many websites claim it for work that does not.

This service does qualify: mowing, hedge trimming, brush clearing and routine garden upkeep are explicitly covered, including removal of the waste the job generates.

The tax credit requires a business registered under the personal services scheme. Ask Josué where that registration stands when he quotes: it changes what the work finally costs you, and he will tell you straight.