By Aps Tree Removal · · Updated
Api Mariner, Qualified Arborist · 12 min read
There is more to hedge trimming services than a trimmer and a ute, but you would not know it from most of the adverts. This guide sets out what Api's hedge service actually includes, the five kinds of hedge job from a quick tidy to a full removal, how the day runs from the moment the truck pulls up, what happens to the clippings, and how the job is priced, so you know exactly what you are booking before you book it.
Api Mariner is a qualified arborist who has trimmed hedges across Melbourne's west, the inner suburbs and Geelong for more than 16 years, from box borders to conifer screens 10 metres tall.
What hedge trimming services include
A proper hedge service is a sequence, not a cut. Every job stacks on the same foundation whether the hedge is a metre of box along a path or a boundary conifer that has not been touched in a decade.
The site check. Species, health, what is growing through the hedge, what the base looks like, where the service line runs and where the chipper can park. The check decides the season, the tools and the safety set-up, and it is where most of the value in a professional service sits.
The shape. Height, width and batter agreed with you before the first cut, and on a formal hedge a string line set along the top so you can see the finished line before anything comes off.
The cut. Both faces from the bottom up, so the hedge ends up very slightly wider at the base than the top and light keeps reaching the lower growth. Then the top to the line. Then the face checked from a distance and refined.
The reduction, where needed. Hedges that have grown too tall are brought down within the green on conifers, and hard cuts on species that take them, lilly pilly and viburnum, are made in their season. Big reductions are staged over more than one visit and the quote says so up front.
The clean-up. Clippings raked off the top, blown out of the base, and chipped on site for mulch or loaded and removed. The garden is left cleaner than it was found.
That sequence is the difference between a hedge that looks good on the day and one that looks good a year later. Gardening Australia's advice for hedges, to trim a little and often so they bush up and to set the level early [1], only works if each trim is done properly: a battered face and a level top are what "properly" means.
The five kinds of hedge job
Most hedges only ever need the first two. Knowing which one yours is saves a conversation on the quote.
Five kinds of hedge job, lightest to heaviest
- 1Tidy trimSoft tips off the faces and top to hold the shape between proper cuts. Quick, small waste, the hedge looks sharp again the same hour.
- 2ShapingBoth faces and the top brought back to an agreed line with a batter built in. The standard seasonal visit on a formal hedge.
- 3Height reductionThe hedge brought down to a new height. On conifers, only within the green and staged over seasons; on lilly pilly and viburnum, a firmer cut in their season.
- 4RenovationA hard cut to rebuild a hedge that has gone bare, woody or lopsided. Lilly pilly can go even to ground level in late winter; conifers cannot be renovated past the green and may be replaced instead.
- 5RemovalThe hedge out, roots and stumps ground, the bed left ready to replant. For hedges that have failed, grown into a service line or become the wrong plant in the wrong place.
The renovation line is where honesty matters most. Gardening Australia's Angus Stewart notes a lilly pilly can be pruned as soft or as hard as you like, even down to ground level, best done in late winter before spring growth [2], and Sophie Thomson describes viburnum kept compact to the ground by deadheading straight after flowering every year [3]. Those species come back. A conifer cut past its green does not, and a hedge trimming service worth booking will tell you that before quoting rather than after cutting.
Api and his team have done a beautiful job. Api pruned trees and trimmed tall hedges for us. Api also removed rubbish and cleaned the place tidily. We are happy with the improved environment of our front yard and backyard. Api is professional, punctual and efficient, and works beyond expectation. We highly recommend Aps Tree Removal.
How a hedge trimming job runs
From the moment the truck arrives, this is the day.
The day of a hedge trim
- Before the truck arrivesThe quote has already described the hedge, the height, both faces, the waste and the timing. The service line has been checked on the visit.
- ArrivalTruck and chipper positioned off the road where possible. Tarps down along the base. Cones and an exclusion zone where a footpath or driveway is in the work area.
- Set-upPlatform or access gear for anything above comfortable reach. String line set on a formal top and shown to you.
- Faces firstBoth sides cut from the bottom up, building the batter so the base stays a touch wider than the top.
- Top to the lineThe top cut level to the string, checked from a distance, refined.
- Reductions and pruningAny agreed reduction within the green; dead wood out; the base cleared of growth that shades it.
- Chip and clearClippings raked and blown, fed into the chipper for mulch or loaded for removal. Paths blown, beds tidied.
- Walk-throughThe hedge checked with you from the street and the garden, and the mulch left where you asked for it.
Two items in that list are non-negotiable on Api's jobs. The first is the platform. Safe Work Australia's guide to tree work states that tree trimming or removal work should not be done from ladders [4], and WorkSafe Victoria updated its guidance for the amenity tree industry after a coroner found 31 people had died in Victoria from tree felling or related activity between January 2012 and September 2018 [9]. Tall hedges are done from platforms, with an exclusion zone under the work [4].
The second is the service line. For a hedge on your property you are responsible for keeping it clear of the line that feeds your house, and Energy Safe Victoria says to clear growth before it comes within one metre of the insulated line in any direction [5]. Anything touching or close to street powerlines is for authorised powerline contractors only [6]. Both are checked on the quote visit, not discovered with a trimmer on the day.
What you should know about the clippings
Hedge clippings are light but bulky, and the green bin fills in minutes. Api chips clippings on site or loads and removes them as part of the price unless the quote says otherwise. Chipped clippings make good mulch for the beds, and plenty of customers ask for them to be left. Say so on the quote visit and it is written in.
Hedges by type, and what the service does with each
| Hedge | What the service usually involves | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Formal box, pittosporum, murraya | Light shaping trims, string-lined top, batter maintained | Spring to autumn, little and often [1] |
| Lilly pilly | Shaping trims through the season; hard renovation cut when needed | Renovation in late winter after frost risk [2] |
| Photinia, viburnum | Shaping after flowering, deadheading, light summer tidy | After flowering [3] |
| Conifer screens | Faces and top within the green; reductions staged over seasons | Any mild, still month |
| Native hedges | Tip pruning after flowering; hard rejuvenation for straggly plants | Autumn |
| Privacy screens and boundary hedges | Height held to what you need, neighbour's side agreed, service line cleared | By species |
Melbourne's climate shapes the season column. The Bureau of Meteorology's long-run averages for Melbourne Airport put the wettest months in spring, 62.4 mm in November and 55.7 mm in October, and the hottest in January and February at a mean maximum of 26.7 degrees [10]. Hedges grow hardest through the wet spring, which is when the shaping trims start; the hard cuts wait for late winter or the end of flowering; and nothing gets cut on a heatwave day or in high wind.
Want the hedge done properly, top to base, with the clippings gone? Api quotes on site for free, 7 days a week, and the price is fixed in writing.
Tall hedges, privacy screens and the 10 metre question
The jobs people cannot do themselves are the ones that make a hedge service worth booking. Api trims hedges up to 10 metres, and the tall conifer screens along so many western-suburbs boundaries are the regular customers.
A tall hedge changes three things about the job. It is done from a platform with an exclusion zone beneath it, never a ladder [4]. It is far more likely to have a service line running through or near it, which is checked first. And if it has grown out of shape it is reduced in stages, because a conifer cannot come down past the green without permanent damage. Bringing an overgrown hedge back is a different service from trimming it, and the quote will say which one you are getting.
Privacy screens have their own logic: the height is set by what you need to block, not by what the plant would like, so the trim is more about holding a line than shaping a form. The neighbour's side is agreed before the day. Overhanging growth is the classic boundary argument, and a written scope that says which side is cut and who removes the clippings prevents it.
Api did an excellent job removing all our overgrown hedges. His work was very professional, was on time and cleaned up very nicely. His price was very fair for a full day's work. Will definitely use Api again and will definitely recommend them to everyone.
How the service is priced
There is no rate per metre, and a hedge company that gives one over the phone is guessing. Five things set the price, and Api sets it on site.
What sets the price of a hedge trim
- Length of the hedge
- Height, and whether a platform is needed
- Access on both sides, or one
- Growth since the last cut: soft tips or woody stems
- What happens to the clippings: chipped, removed or left
- Anything near a service line that changes the method
- Whether other work is added to the same visit
Consumer Affairs Victoria's checklist for home jobs asks for a written record even for small work, three quotes on the same description, and a certificate of currency for public liability insurance on request [7]; its guidance to tradespeople says a clear quote spells out what the labour covers and any call-out or weekend rates [8]. Api's written quote does all of that without being asked, and the price does not move on the day because the far face turned out to be on the neighbour's side.
The cheapest way to buy the service is to buy it regularly. A hedge on a seasonal schedule is quick to trim and light on waste, and keeping hedge trimming affordable is mostly a matter of not letting the hedge get ahead of the trimmer. Adding tree pruning, a stump or green waste to the same visit is cheaper again, because the crew and the chipper are already on the driveway.
Trimming, done professionally
Professional hedge trimming is not a different tool; it is the site check, the string line, the batter, the platform and the clean-up, done in that order by someone who knows which hedges take a hard cut and which do not. Booking a hedge trim with our hedge trimming service gets you a free on-site visit, a written price that covers the cut and the clippings, a qualified arborist on the trimmer, and a garden left cleaner than it was found.
Api answers the phone 7 days from 6am, across Melbourne's west, the inner city and Geelong.
How you get a hedge trimmed properly, top to base, with the clippings gone
Getting a hedge trimmed properly, top to base, with the clippings gone 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 do hedge trimming services include?
A site check of the species, the service line and the access, an agreed shape marked with a string line, both faces cut with a slight batter and the top cut level, reductions kept within the green and staged where needed, and the clippings raked, chipped or removed. Api works from platforms for tall hedges and leaves the garden cleaner than he found it.
How tall a hedge can you trim?
Api trims hedges up to 10 metres, working from platforms and proper access gear rather than ladders, with an exclusion zone under the work.
Do you take the clippings away?
Yes. Clippings are chipped on site for mulch or loaded and removed as part of the price unless the quote says otherwise. If you want the mulch left on the beds, say so on the quote visit.
How long does a hedge trim take?
A small formal hedge on a regular schedule is an hour or two. A long boundary hedge or a tall conifer screen is a half day or a day. An overgrown hedge that needs a staged reduction takes more than one visit, and the quote says so.
Is hedge trimming priced per metre?
No. The price is set by length, height, access on both sides, growth since the last cut and the waste, and Api sets it on site. The written quote is fixed once you have it.
Can you trim my trees and hedges on the same visit?
Yes, and it is the cheapest way to do both, because the crew and the chipper are already there. Tree pruning, a stump or green waste can all be added to a hedge visit and are quoted before they are done.
Sources
- Gardening Australia (ABC): FAQs: hedging lilly pillies (Series 30, Episode 07)
- Gardening Australia (ABC): Pruning Lilly Pillies (Series 19, Episode 32)
- Gardening Australia (ABC): Spring Pruning (Series 29, Episode 36)
- Safe Work Australia: Guide to managing the risks of tree work (March 2023)
- Energy Safe Victoria: Trees and vegetation FAQ (reviewed 16 March 2026)
- Energy Safe Victoria: Managing trees near powerlines
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Home improvements costing $10,000 or less: checklist
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Giving quotes: tradespeople and small works (updated 8 July 2025)
- WorkSafe Victoria: Controlling the risks of working with trees (news, 28 January 2020)
- Bureau of Meteorology: Climate statistics for Australian locations: Melbourne Airport
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.
