By Aps Tree Removal · · Updated
Api Mariner, Qualified Arborist · 12 min read
Search for hedge trimming contracts and most of what comes back is written for property managers with fifty sites. Most Melbourne homeowners want something simpler: a hedge that never gets to the point where it looks neglected, cut by the same person each time, at a price they know in advance. That is a hedge maintenance plan, and this guide explains what one covers, how often each kind of hedge actually needs cutting across a Melbourne year, and what to settle in writing before the first visit.
Api Mariner has looked after hedges on a schedule for households, body corporates and small businesses across Melbourne's west and inner suburbs for more than 16 years. Some of his regular customers have been on the books since he started. What follows is how those arrangements work.
What a hedge maintenance plan is, and what it is not
A maintenance plan is an agreed rhythm of visits, timed to your hedges rather than to a calendar date, with the scope of each visit written down. It is not a lock-in. Nothing in it stops you pausing after a dry summer or adding a visit before a family event. What it does is remove the two things that make hedge work expensive: the surprise of a hedge that has got away, and the argument about what a trim was supposed to include.
Consumer Affairs Victoria's advice for any home improvement job applies exactly: have a written record for all work, even small jobs, that clearly states the work to be done and the total cost, and put any agreed changes in writing [1]. For a standing arrangement the writing is the plan itself: the hedges, the shape and height they are kept to, both faces and the top, the clippings, and the price per visit.
What a plan should state before the first visit
Which hedges are covered, and to what height and shape. Whether both faces and the top are cut on every visit. What happens to the clippings: chipped for mulch, loaded and removed, or left. When the visits fall and why. What a reduction or a rejuvenation cut costs if a hedge needs one. And that the arborist's certificate of currency for public liability insurance is on file.
How often a hedge needs maintenance in Melbourne
The right cadence comes from the plant and the season, not from a number pulled from the air. Melbourne's growth pattern is set by its climate: the Bureau of Meteorology's Melbourne Airport averages show the wettest months in spring, 62.4 mm in November and 55.7 mm in October, summer maximums averaging 26.7 degrees, and a cold dry July at 13.2 degrees [7]. Hedges flush hard from spring into early summer, slow through the dry heat, and rest in winter.
Gardening Australia's rule for lilly pilly hedges applies to nearly every formal hedge: trim a little and often so the plants bush up, and level the tops early rather than waiting for full height [3]. Each light cut makes the hedge branch behind it, which is how a maintained hedge gets denser every year while a neglected one gets thinner at the base.
How the visits fall across a Melbourne year
- Late winter (August)The firm cut for lilly pilly, which can be pruned as hard as needed before spring growth once frosts have passed.
- Spring (September to November)Photinia and viburnum cut straight after flowering. Deadheading viburnum every year keeps it compact to the ground. First light trim on formal hedges as the flush begins.
- Early summer (December)Second light trim on fast growers. No cutting in heatwave conditions or high wind.
- Late summer (February)A tidy trim only, while soils are dry.
- Autumn (March to April)Shaping trim before winter. Tip prune native hedges such as grevillea and westringia, up to the end of April.
- Winter (June to July)No cutting. Plan any reductions, check the service line, book the late-winter cut.
Two to four visits a year is where most formal hedges settle. The species decides where in that range a particular hedge sits.
| Hedge | Typical visits a year | The firm cut | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lilly pilly | 3 to 4 | Late winter [5] | Takes a hard cut, even to ground level if needed [5] |
| Viburnum tinus | 2 to 3 | After flowering [4] | Annual deadheading keeps it dense to the base [4] |
| Photinia | 2 to 3 | After flowering [4] | Bright red new growth flushes after each trim |
| Pittosporum, murraya, box | 3 to 4 | Late winter to spring | Light and frequent; never one heavy cut |
| Conifers | 1 to 2 | Any mild month, within the green | Never cut past the green |
| Native hedges | 1 to 2 | Autumn, to the end of April [6] | Tip prune after flowering; never remove buds [6] |
The cadence is set on the first visit and adjusted as the hedge tells us what it does on your soil. A pittosporum in good ground in Williamstown grows faster than the same plant on clay in Melton, and the plan follows the hedge.
Api & his wife are a fabulous team. Amazing job in our Camberwell home today trimming our front, side & rear tree hedges. Excellent cleaning up. So happy with the work that we have now engaged then to continue the maintenance of our hedges every 6 weeks or as required. Very well priced & more than happy to recommend their services.
Why a regular plan costs less across the year
Here is the arithmetic Api walks through with new customers who wonder whether a plan is worth it.
A hedge trimmed on schedule is always close to its shape, so each visit is a light cut of soft growth. The visit is quick, the clippings are few, and the clean-up is a rake and a blower. Nothing has to be staged and nothing has to recover.
A hedge left to run for a few years is a different job. The shape has to be found again, so the cut goes into woody growth with loppers and a saw. The waste comes off by the trailer load. Conifers cannot be cut past the green without permanent brown holes, so a big reduction is staged over seasons and the hedge looks half-finished in between. Lilly pilly and viburnum recover from a hard cut, but they stand bare while they do.
Across a year
On a maintenance plan
- Two to four short visits, each an hour or two
- Soft clippings, small waste, quick clean-up
- Face stays dense, top stays level, base stays green
- Visits grouped with other work in your suburb
- Price per visit known in advance
One rescue cut when it gets bad
- One long job, often more than one visit
- Woody waste by the trailer load
- Bare patches or brown holes while the hedge recovers
- Reductions staged over seasons on conifers
- Priced from scratch each time, usually at the worst moment
Keeping hedge trimming affordable is mostly about not letting the hedge get ahead of the trimmer, and a plan is the simplest way to guarantee that. The same logic runs in the other direction too: when a hedge has already got away, bringing an overgrown hedge back is a pruning job first and a maintenance job second, and Api will quote it as two things rather than pretend one visit does both.
Want your hedges on a schedule so they are never overdue? Api sets the plan up on a free visit, 7 days a week, and puts the scope and price in writing.
What to check before you agree to any hedge maintenance plan
Consumer Affairs Victoria's guidance to tradespeople on quoting is a useful mirror for homeowners: a clear quote says whether it includes transport, what the labour covers and how it is calculated, and any call-out, weekend or public holiday rates [2]. Its consumer checklist adds the questions to ask referees: did the tradesperson start and finish on time, communicate clearly, and did the price increase and was that agreed [1]. For a standing hedge arrangement, run through these.
Before you sign anything
- Is every hedge named, with the height and shape it will be kept to?
- Are both faces and the top cut on every visit, or is the far side extra?
- Is the clean-up included: paths, beds, the neighbour's side?
- What happens to the clippings, and is that in the price?
- Are visits timed to the species and the season, and does the plan say why?
- Is a reduction or rejuvenation cut quoted separately, and staged where it has to be?
- Is the service line checked on each visit?
- Is the public liability certificate of currency on file?
- Can you pause or stop without penalty?
- Is the person quoting the person doing the work?
The service-line check matters more than it sounds. For a tree or hedge on your property you are responsible for keeping it clear of the service line to your own house, and Energy Safe Victoria says to clear growth before it comes within one metre of the insulated line in any direction [8]. A conifer hedge on a boundary is the classic offender, and a good plan catches it every visit rather than after the line is buried.
Had Api come and trim back some out of control trees on our new property to a maintainable level, looks fantastic and he and his team were prompt, tidy and great to deal with. Highly recommend! Definitely have him back soon
Maintenance plans for homes, strata and businesses
The horticulture is the same everywhere; the logistics change.
Households usually want the front hedge sharp, the boundary hedge under control, and a quiet arrangement where the crew turns up when the hedge needs it. Most settle into three visits a year with a phone call before each one.
Body corporates and strata need the scope in writing for the committee, visits on a day residents know about, and clear rules on shared boundaries. Overhanging branches and dropped leaves are the classic neighbour dispute, and the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria runs a free mediation service for exactly those arguments [10]; a written plan that says which side of a shared hedge is cut, and when, prevents most of them.
Businesses want the hedge cut outside trading hours and the frontage tidy without fuss. Trimming around a car park or shopfront adds sightlines and pedestrians to the plan: the hedge may be held lower than the owner would choose, the exclusion zone is set up with customers in mind, and the visit is timed before opening. Safe Work Australia's guidance for tree work is the standard the crew works to whatever the site: no trimming from ladders, and an exclusion zone under the work so nothing lands on a person [9].
Adding other work to a visit
The cheapest time to prune a tree, grind a stump or clear a pile of green waste is when the crew and the chipper are already on your driveway. Regular customers use the scheduled visit for exactly that: a lift on the gum over the driveway, the yucca that has finally gone too far, the branches stacked behind the shed since winter. Each addition is quoted before it is done, and it is priced on the extra time alone because the travel and set-up are already covered.
How Api runs a hedge maintenance plan
It starts with a free visit. Api walks every hedge with you, identifies the species, checks the service line, looks at both faces and the base, and sets the height and shape you want kept. The plan comes back in writing: hedges, scope, cadence, price per visit, and the insurance certificate. Booking hedge trimming on a schedule from then on is a phone call before each visit, and the crew that quoted is the crew that turns up.
A regular hedge maintenance plan from our hedge trimming service is not a contract in the property-manager sense. It is a standing arrangement with the arborist who knows your hedges, that keeps them a season away from looking their best instead of a year away from a rescue. Api answers the phone 7 days from 6am.
How you get a hedge that is always about to look its best, not overdue
Getting a hedge that is always about to look its best, not overdue does not have to be complicated. At Aps Tree Removal we look at the job with you, tell you what actually needs doing and what does not, and put a fixed price on it before anything is cut.
No pushy sales. Api comes out, walks the property with you, explains the options and what each one means for the result, the risk and the price. You decide at your own pace. People choose us because they understand the job before they book it, and the crew that quotes is the crew that turns up.
We will tell you if a council permit applies and what the process is, we will point out anything near powerlines or the neighbour's boundary that changes the method, and we will say plainly when a cheaper option is the better one. Every job is done by a qualified arborist, fully insured, and the site is left cleaner than we found it.
Get in touch today. Api quotes for free, 7 days, 6am to 5pm, across Melbourne's west, the inner city and Geelong.
How we work with you
We talk and answer your questions
Call 0422 856 090 or send the form. Api asks what is worrying you about the tree, hedge or stump, what access is like, and whether anything sits near powerlines or a fence line.
We look and give you a fixed price
Api visits, inspects the tree or hedge, checks the permit position for your council, and quotes in writing. The price covers the job, the clean-up and the green waste unless we say otherwise.
You decide what works best
Remove, reduce, prune or wait: we explain the difference and what each costs. No pressure, no expiring offers. The choice is yours.
We do the job and stay in touch
The crew arrives when we said, works to the plan, and leaves the site clean. If the tree throws a surprise on the day, we tell you before we change anything.
Frequently asked questions
What is a hedge maintenance plan?
An agreed schedule of trims for your hedges across the year, timed to the species and Melbourne's seasons, with the scope written down: which hedges, both faces and the top, what happens to the clippings, and what a visit costs. It is a standing arrangement, not a lock-in.
How often does a hedge need maintenance?
Most formal hedges look their best on two to four trims a year: a firmer cut at the right season for the plant, then light trims through the growing season. Fast growers on good soil sit at the higher end; conifers and box at the lower end. Api sets the cadence hedge by hedge on the first visit.
Am I locked into a hedge trimming contract?
Not with Api. A maintenance plan is a schedule you can pause or stop at any time. What you agree in writing is the scope and the price per visit, so nobody argues about what a trim includes.
What should a hedge maintenance quote include?
The hedges covered, the height and shape they will be kept to, both faces and the top, the clippings and the clean-up, the visit timing and the price per visit. Consumer Affairs Victoria's advice for any home job is a written record even for small work, and to ask for the tradesperson's insurance certificate.
Is regular hedge maintenance cheaper than one big cut a year?
Usually, across the year. Light trims are quick with little waste, and the hedge never needs a rescue cut. A hedge left to run needs a longer job, bulk waste, and on many species a staged reduction across seasons.
Can a maintenance plan include trees and other garden work?
Yes. Most of Api's regular customers add tree pruning, a stump or green waste to a visit when it is due, because the crew and the chipper are already there. Each addition is quoted before it is done.
Sources
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Home improvements costing $10,000 or less: checklist
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Giving quotes: tradespeople and small works (updated 8 July 2025)
- Gardening Australia (ABC): FAQs: hedging lilly pillies (Series 30, Episode 07)
- Gardening Australia (ABC): Spring Pruning (Series 29, Episode 36)
- Gardening Australia (ABC): Pruning Lilly Pillies (Series 19, Episode 32)
- Gardening Australia (ABC): Pruning Natives (Series 27, Episode 03)
- Bureau of Meteorology: Climate statistics for Australian locations: Melbourne Airport
- Energy Safe Victoria: Trees and vegetation FAQ (reviewed 16 March 2026)
- Safe Work Australia: Guide to managing the risks of tree work (March 2023)
- Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria: Neighbour disputes: trees
Information about tree work, council permits and insurance changes often, and every property is different: figures here are general guidance and linked pages may change or become outdated. For a price on your own tree, hedge or stump, call Api on 0422 856 090 for a free quote.
