Arborists & Tree Surgeons
Qualified arborists assessing tree health, risk and council requirements across Canberra.
Learn more →Hedges are trees on a schedule
A hedge is only as good as the maintenance behind it, and in Canberra's climate — hot dry summers, frosty winters, the occasional brutal southerly — that maintenance has to respect the plant. The arborists we connect you with treat hedge care as horticulture, not landscaping-by-the-metre. From the clipped box parterres of Forrest and Griffith to the towering photinia screens shielding Gungahlin courtyards and the pittosporum boundaries common through Belconnen, every species has its own rhythm. Get the timing and the depth of cut right and a hedge stays dense, green and sharp for decades; get it wrong and you're left with bare patches that never fill.
What hedge care covers
- Formal shaping — crisp faces and a slight batter (wider at the base) so light reaches the bottom and the hedge doesn't thin out below.
- Screening maintenance — keeping tall boundary hedges dense for privacy without letting them balloon out over fences or footpaths.
- Reduction and renovation — bringing an overgrown, leggy hedge back to a manageable size where the species allows it.
- Green-waste removal — clippings chipped and mulched or taken away, so you're not left with a pile. See our clean-up and mulching service.
Species first, cut second
The single most common way a hedge is ruined is cutting a conifer into old wood that will never reshoot. Leyland cypress, thuja and most junipers only carry green on the outer growth; go past it and the gap is permanent. Broadleaf evergreens are far more forgiving. Because the crews we work with are qualified arborists, species identification comes before the trimmer starts — which is precisely why our hedge work holds up. That care is part of why the network we connect you with is Trade Guardian verified and rated 5.0 stars across 17 Google reviews.
A schedule that suits the garden
Rather than a one-off blitz, most Canberra gardens do better on a light, regular cycle. We'll help you set an interval — two or three visits a year for a formal hedge, adjusted for growth rate and your tolerance for shagginess between cuts. Regular light trims also mean less stress on the plant and a denser result than an annual hard hack.
Book a hedge assessment
If your screening has outgrown its spot or your formal lines have gone soft, we'll connect you with a vetted Canberra arborist who'll assess the species and set the right approach. Pair hedge care with proper pruning for your feature trees, or crown reduction and lopping where a hedge has grown into a genuine tree. Start from the home page.
More services
Explore our other services
Tree Removal
Complete removal of dead, diseased or unwanted trees, residential and commercial.
Learn more →Complex Tree Felling
Controlled, sectional felling for large or tight-access trees near structures and power lines.
Learn more →Complete Stump Removal
Full stump and root extraction, plus grinding options, for a clean, usable block.
Learn more →Crown Reduction & Lopping
Size and shape management, including dead-wooding, to keep trees safe and healthy.
Learn more →Clean-Up & Mulching
Full site clean-up with green waste chipped and mulched on-site where possible.
Learn more →Storm & Emergency Response
Fast response for storm-damaged, fallen or hazardous trees threatening property.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How often should a Canberra hedge be trimmed?
Most established formal hedges want two to three trims a year — a hard shape in late winter before the spring flush, a tidy through summer, and a light touch in autumn. Fast growers like photinia and pittosporum can need more; conifer screens like leyland or cypress prefer fewer, well-timed cuts because they don't reshoot from bare wood. The crew we connect you with will set a schedule around your species and how sharp you want the lines.
Can you cut a hedge back hard without killing it?
It depends entirely on the species. Broadleaf evergreens such as photinia, box, murraya and lilly pilly generally take a hard cut and reshoot well. Conifers — leyland cypress, thuja, many junipers — largely will not reshoot from old bare wood, so cutting into it leaves permanent brown gaps. An arborist identifies the plant first, then sets how far back it can safely go. That assessment is exactly why hedge care belongs with a tree professional, not a mower crew.
Do hedges fall under the ACT Urban Forest Act?
Usually not, because most hedge and screening shrubs sit under the protected-tree thresholds. But a mature screening tree — a large lilly pilly, a row of established conifers over 8m, or anything on the ACT Tree Register — can be regulated under the Urban Forest Act 2023. If your "hedge" has grown into protected-tree territory, the assessing arborist will tell you before any major cut and advise on a tree activity application if one is needed.
Free, no-obligation