Hedge work — annual trim and reshape
Most Waikato sections have at least one hedge — griselinia along the back boundary, photinia 'Red Robin' as a privacy screen, a buxus border that wants tidying, or the long murraya the previous owner planted twelve years ago and never touched. A single annual trim in late spring (November) or autumn (March) keeps a hedge tight, healthy, and out of the neighbour's airspace.
- Griselinia littoralis — the Waikato workhorse hedge. Single annual trim in November sets it for the year. Most sections want a 1.5–2 m finished height; we top to 1.8 m unless you tell us otherwise.
- Photinia 'Red Robin' — twice a year is ideal (early spring + late summer). The autumn trim drives the new red growth that's the whole point of the plant.
- Buxus / box — wants two visits a year minimum, more if you want crisp topiary. Easy work, just slow on a long border.
- Murraya paniculata — single annual trim in October, light shape in February. Flowers on new wood, so don't over-shape in winter.
- Pittosporum tenuifolium — annual prune in March, more shape than reduction. Don't cut into bare wood — it doesn't bud back from old growth.
Clippings go on a tarp at the base of the hedge as we work, then into your green-waste bin or onto the trailer at $25 a load. Long hedges (over 30 m) we'd quote by the linear metre rather than flat — usually $16–22 a metre depending on height and species.
Fruit-tree pruning — winter window
Most Waikato fruit trees want a proper winter prune between June and early August — sap-low, leaves off, you can see what you're doing. We're not a commercial orchard team, but Hemi's Wintec Level 4 covered home-orchard pruning and we've kept our hand in across about a hundred Waikato sections.
- Pip fruit (apple, pear) — central-leader or open-vase, depending on tree and goal. Aim to drive new fruiting wood and remove the older spurs that have gone biennial
- Stone fruit (plum, peach, nectarine, apricot) — vase-prune, late winter only after the worst frost risk has gone, watch for silver-leaf
- Citrus (lemon, mandarin, lime, orange) — late winter / early spring shape-prune, light work, focus on opening the centre
- Feijoa — light annual shape after harvest (May–June), every three years a heavier rejuvenation prune
- Avocado — minimal pruning, mostly cleanup and lowering for picking; we don't go above five metres on these
Small tree removal — under five metres
We'll take out a small tree under five metres — a self-sown wattle, a dying tree fern, a leftover liquidambar that's gotten too close to the foundation — using hand-saws and a small chainsaw on the ground only. Anything over five metres, anything that needs climbing, or anything within ten metres of a power line goes to Ben Carrington's arborist crew in Te Rapa.
Stump grinding isn't our trade — we'd refer to a Hamilton operator who has the kit. We can dig out small stumps (under 30 cm diameter) by hand if you want it gone same-day.
When to book through the year
The hedge-and-tree work bunches into three windows. Booking ahead of these windows by three to four weeks gets you the slot you want.
- June – August: fruit-tree winter prune (busiest window — book by late May)
- October – November: spring hedge trim (griselinia, photinia, murraya)
- March – April: autumn hedge trim (pittosporum, buxus second-cut, deciduous shape)
Storm-damaged trees and emergency hedge work (someone's complained, a buyer is coming through Saturday) we fit in around the round when we can — usually within four to seven days.
What it costs
Flat pricing for standard jobs, linear-metre rate for long hedges, by-the-tree for fruit pruning. All prices include 15% GST.
- Hedge trim — flat rate, single hedge under 8 m linear, under 1.8 m height: $145
- Hedge trim — over 8 m linear, by-the-metre: $16–22 per metre
- Fruit-tree winter prune — per tree, standard home-orchard scale: $95 per tree
- Citrus shape prune — per tree: $65
- Feijoa prune — per tree: $75
- Small tree removal under 5 m — by site visit: from $185
- Green-waste haul-off (if needed): $25 per trailer load
Above five metres — what we hand off
This isn't a soft limit. Above five metres or near power lines we don't touch the work — for two reasons:
- We don't carry the climbing kit or chainsaw-above-shoulder certification that a real arborist holds
- Our public liability cover excludes tree work above five metres — so even if nothing went wrong, you wouldn't want our policy on the line
The hand-off goes to Ben Carrington at Carrington Tree Services in Te Rapa — Level 4 Arboriculture, Site Safe, full chainsaw certification. We project-manage from our end, don't take a referral cut, and Ben quotes you direct. About 20% of our tree-work enquiries go to him.
Related services
- Section maintenance — fortnightly garden visits
- Native planting — replanting after a hedge or tree removal
- Storm cleanup — branches down after a weather event