How Much Does It Cost to Light a Tree? (Eastbourne Guide)
Uplighting a single tree typically costs £150–£400 supplied and installed, depending on the tree's size, cable-run distance, and whether one or two fittings are needed. It's one of the highest-impact, lowest-cost garden lighting projects available.
Please note: all prices on this page are estimated guide ranges for illustration only, not fixed quotes. Your actual price is confirmed in writing as part of a design visit.
A single well-lit tree is often the single most effective thing in a garden lighting scheme — it draws the eye, gives the garden a focal point after dark, and costs a fraction of a full scheme. Here's what actually goes into the price.
Tree lighting cost by size
| Tree size | Typical fittings | Guide cost |
|---|---|---|
| Small / young tree | 1 uplight | £150–£220 |
| Medium, established tree | 1–2 uplights | £220–£320 |
| Large, mature tree | 2–3 fittings for even coverage | £320–£450 |
Two real examples
A mature apple tree in a Victorian rear garden
An established apple tree with a wide, low canopy, roughly 8m from the house. One uplight positioned to catch the trunk and lower branches, run on the existing 12V circuit already serving the border lights nearby — kept the cost toward the lower end since cable was already close by.
A young silver birch in a new-build front garden
A slim, recently planted birch with an open canopy. A single low-output uplight was enough — over-lighting a young tree like this would look harsh, so less was genuinely more here, and the fitting was chosen to be repositioned easily as the tree fills out over the coming years.
What affects the cost
- Tree size and canopy shape. A wide, mature canopy often needs two fittings positioned to avoid one flat wash of light; a slim young tree needs just one.
- Distance from the power source. A specimen tree at the far end of a long garden costs more to light than one near an existing circuit, simply due to cable run.
- Technique. Uplighting from the ground suits trees with textured bark or interesting branch structure. A fine, open canopy can suit moonlighting instead — a fitting mounted within the tree, casting light down like moonlight — which has slightly different installation costs.
- Fitting material. On exposed coastal plots (less of a concern out in Polegate or East Dean), marine-grade fittings cost more per unit but avoid early corrosion — see our coastal garden lighting guide.
A tip worth knowing
If you're planning to light more than one tree, price them together rather than one at a time. A shared cable run and a single transformer sized for all of them is usually cheaper per tree than treating each as a separate job later.
Not sure which of your trees are worth lighting?
Our design visit includes advice on which features earn the light and which don't, plus a fixed, itemised quote — no obligation.
Book a Design VisitTree uplighting is one of six core techniques we use in most schemes — see the full breakdown on our garden & outdoor lighting service page, including how it combines with border and path lighting.