About hedge trimming & shaping
Hedge trimming keeps a hedge dense, straight and the size you want. Formal hedges of murraya, buxus, viburnum, photinia and lilly pilly need cutting several times a year through the growing season, screening hedges on boundaries usually twice, and conifers once, carefully. The job is worth handing over once a hedge is taller than you can reach safely from the ground, when the lines have started to wander, or when a hedge has been let go and needs a staged reduction rather than one brutal cut. Shaping also covers topiary balls and cloud-pruned shrubs, which look wrong the moment they are cut unevenly.
These suburbs are hedge country. Murraya lines front fences from Woollahra to Mosman, lilly pilly screens close neighbours on the subdivided blocks of Bellevue Hill and Cremorne, and tall Leighton Green conifers hide tennis courts in Pymble and St Ives. The local pests are psyllids, which pimple lilly pilly leaves, scale with its sooty mould, and myrtle rust, which can spread between lilly pillies on dirty blades. Salt wind burns the seaward side of hedges in Dover Heights and Palm Beach. Many tall hedges run under or near service wires, and some front hedges in heritage conservation areas are part of the streetscape councils want kept.
Hedging itself needs no licence in NSW, but a few rules matter. Northern Beaches Council treats two or more trees planted in a line and at least 2.5 metres high as a hedge that can be pruned or removed without a permit, while a single overgrown lilly pilly can be a protected tree needing council approval, so a good tradie checks. Ausgrid requires anyone trimming within 3 metres of its powerlines to be accredited for that work, and the owner is responsible for clearing private service lines. Work from ladders and platforms falls under WHS fall-prevention rules. The vetting covers the rest: ABN, public liability insurance and references.
What the job usually includes
How it works
- Tell us about the hedgeGive the plant type if you know it, the rough length and height, and whether you want it kept as is, reduced or reshaped. Photos from both sides help, and so does a note about access, slope, powerlines nearby and whether clippings can go in your organics bin.
- We match hedge tradies near youThe job goes to vetted, independent gardeners and hedge specialists who work in your suburb. Each has passed identity, ABN, insurance, work-history and conduct checks before receiving any match.
- They quote you in writingInterested tradies get in touch directly, usually after seeing the hedge, and quote in writing under their own name. The quote should say how the hedge will be cut, how far it will be reduced, how waste is removed and whether a return visit is needed. You decide; there is no obligation.
- The cutA careful tradie works with sharp, clean blades, sets string lines for long formal runs, tapers the sides so light reaches the base, and reduces overgrown hedges in stages rather than cutting back to bare wood that may not reshoot. Ladders and platforms are footed properly, powerlines are respected, and drop sheets or tarps protect beds, pools and paving. Clippings leave the same day.
- AfterwardsLook along the top and sides from the street and from inside the garden, and check that beds, gutters and the neighbour's side are clear. Ask when the next cut is due. Then tell us how the match went; your feedback keeps the network honest.
Good hedging is about timing and restraint
The difference between a hedge that thickens and one that browns off is where and when the cut lands. Murraya, lilly pilly, viburnum and buxus reshoot from old wood and can be reduced hard in stages; conifers such as Leighton Green and cypress will not, so anyone who cuts them back past green growth leaves permanent holes. Good tradies avoid hard cuts in heatwaves and drought, trim flowering hedges after they flower, and keep a slight taper so the base is not shaded out. Blades are sharp so the cut heals cleanly, and they are cleaned between properties because myrtle rust and scale travel.
Care around the hedge matters as much. Beds, pool surfaces and paving are covered before the trimmer starts, so you are not picking leaf out of the filter for a week. Ladders are set on firm ground or replaced by a platform on slopes, and nobody reaches toward service wires. Clippings are raked from both sides of a boundary hedge, bagged or loaded, and never pushed into the gutter or left in a lane. If a plant in the line has grown into a protected tree, or sits in a heritage conservation area, a good tradie says so and points you to council rather than cutting first.
Questions worth asking the tradie
Frequently asked questions
Fast formal hedges such as murraya and lilly pilly look their best with a light trim every six to eight weeks through the warm months and one tidy in winter. Viburnum, photinia and buxus can go longer. Conifers are cut once, lightly, in late spring or summer. Screening hedges that only need to stay a certain height are usually done twice a year. Frequent light cuts build a denser hedge than occasional hard ones.
Murraya, lilly pilly, viburnum, photinia and buxus will reshoot from bare wood, so they can be reduced a lot, best in two or three stages over a year or two so the plant keeps some leaf. Conifers cannot be cut back past green growth. A tradie who has seen the hedge will tell you what it can take and whether to feed and water it afterwards.
Pimpled, bubbled new leaves are psyllid damage, a tiny sap-sucking insect that lives inside the bumps. Trimming off the affected flush and removing the clippings helps, and the next growth is often cleaner. Some newer lilly pilly varieties are bred to resist psyllid. Orange powdery spots are myrtle rust, which is more serious and spreads easily; ask the tradie how they clean their tools.
Usually not for a true hedge. Northern Beaches Council exempts hedges of two or more trees in a line at least 2.5 metres tall unless a development consent says otherwise. Woollahra and Randwick protect individual trees above set heights or crown widths, which can catch a single overgrown lilly pilly or conifer, and trees in heritage conservation areas need approval. When in doubt, check with your council before the cut.
Ausgrid clears vegetation around its network on public land, but the owner is responsible for keeping private service lines and private poles clear. Trimming within 3 metres of Ausgrid powerlines must be done by workers accredited for that task, and the no-go zone closest to the lines is for Ausgrid's own contractors. A careful tradie will stop work and let you know if a hedge has grown into that space.
Not without the neighbour's agreement. A tradie can only cut what grows on your side of the boundary, and even then should not damage the hedge. Disputes over high hedges blocking sunlight or views in NSW are handled under the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 through the Land and Environment Court, after an attempt at mediation. Talking to the neighbour first is almost always quicker.
