Selective pruning that leaves a tree better than it found it

The pruning jobs people actually ask for

Deadwooding. Taking dead limbs out of the canopy. On mature eucalypts this is routine maintenance, not a sign of decline, and it is the single most cost-effective piece of risk reduction available on a tree over a driveway or pool.

Crown thinning. Evenly removing a portion of the smaller live growth through the canopy so wind passes through rather than pushing against it. Useful on exposed blocks, and on trees that have thickened up to the point where the interior has died back.

Crown lifting. Raising the lower canopy for clearance — mower, car, gate, footpath, sightlines.

Roof and gutter clearance. Getting branches off the tiles and out of the gutters. In Perth this matters for two extra reasons beyond the obvious: marri and lemon-scented gum litter blocks gutters fast, and branch contact with a roof gives possums and rats a bridge.

Powerline clearance. Trimming back from service lines. There are limits on who may approach live conductors and how closely, so this is a job for a crew accredited to do it or one done under an arranged isolation — never a homeowner on a ladder.

Formative pruning. Shaping a young tree in its first years so it develops a single dominant leader and well-spaced scaffold limbs. It is cheap now and it prevents the co-dominant union that splits in twenty years.

Seed and fruit removal. Marri gumnuts, olives, figs, Cape lilac berries — off before they hit the paving and the pool filter.

What good pruning does not look like

Lion's tailing — stripping the interior growth and leaving tufts on the ends of long bare limbs — is the most common failure. It looks tidy and it makes the limb heavier at the end and more likely to fail.

Flush cuts into the trunk, which remove the branch collar and the tree's ability to seal the wound, are the second. So is taking more than roughly a quarter of the live crown in one visit, and so is pruning only the side overhanging a neighbour, which leaves the tree unbalanced.

If what you actually need is size reduction rather than selective pruning, that is a lopping and reduction job, and if the tree is failing it is a removal.

Timing in Perth

Late winter into early spring is the general window for structural pruning, while growth is slow and the framework is visible. Hazard work happens whenever the hazard exists.

The specific local argument for getting it done before December is summer branch drop. Big eucalypts, and lemon-scented gums in particular, shed heavy limbs on hot, still afternoons with no wind at all. Deadwooding and shortening long horizontal limbs before the heat is the practical response. The Perth pruning page covers that in more detail alongside the local species.

Getting a quote

Pruning is quoted on how many trees, how big, how much material comes out, whether it is climbed or reached from a platform, and where the chip goes. The cost guide covers each factor, and the service areas page sets out which council covers your suburb — relevant because Western Australia has no statewide tree preservation order and the rules vary locally.

Call (08) 9516 2804 or send through the details.