The lilly pilly screen that was planted for privacy is now 6 metres tall and blocking the gutters. The row of ficus along the boundary has turned into a wall of trees. The screening behind the pool has grown so dense you cannot see through it — but you cannot see over it either, and neither can the neighbours. That is tree hedging work. Established hedges and screening trees that have outgrown their intended size and need professional management with climbing gear, EWPs, and arborist-grade equipment.
Free quote
Describe the job, upload photos of the tree and access, and we reply with a fixed price — usually the same day.
Once a screening hedge passes 3 or 4 metres, it stops being a garden job and starts being tree work. Here is how we manage it.
Tree hedging is not garden-hedge trimming with a bigger ladder. Once screening plants pass 3 or 4 metres, the work shifts from hand shears to climbing gear, elevated work platforms, extended-reach power tools, and arborist rigging. The species involved — lilly pilly, ficus, brush box, tuckeroo, and large murraya — are essentially trees at this stage, and they need tree-scale management.
The goal is to keep tall screens at a controlled height and width, maintain the screening density that gives you privacy, and prevent the hedge from becoming a structural risk — root damage to fences, weight loading on boundary walls, or canopy spread that blocks light to neighbours. Most of this work involves height reduction, lateral cutback, and scheduled maintenance to stop the cycle repeating.
These are the situations where a domestic hedge trimmer and a stepladder are no longer enough.
What was planted as a 2-metre privacy hedge is now 5 or 6 metres tall, blocking gutters, shading the pool, and starting to worry the neighbours. You cannot reach the top from a stepladder and a domestic hedge trimmer will not cut branches this thick.
Top-heavy screens shade out their own lower growth and lose density at eye level — the exact zone you need for privacy. A professional reshape restores the taper and encourages regrowth lower down.
Large screening trees push roots into fences, retaining walls, and neighbouring property. The canopy spreads past the boundary line. Controlled hedging keeps the screen functional without creating a dispute.
Tall hedges that are maintained on a regular cycle stay denser, cost less per visit, and never reach the point where a major corrective cutback — and the bill that goes with it — is the only option.
Height reduction, boundary control, screen reshaping, and scheduled maintenance for established hedges and screening trees across Sydney.
Dropping lilly pilly, ficus, brush box, and tuckeroo screens from 5–8 metres back to a manageable 2.5–4 metres. Staged when the species needs it to avoid permanent bare patches.
Pulling screening trees back from boundary fences, retaining walls, neighbouring rooflines, and footpaths. Measured reduction that keeps the screen functional without creating disputes.
Restoring screening density at eye level where top-heavy growth has shaded out the lower canopy. Adjusting height-to-width ratio so the hedge does the job it was planted for.
Quarterly or biannual visits with EWPs and extended-reach tools to keep established screens at a controlled size. Strata, commercial, and residential programs available.
Multi-boundary hedging for apartment complexes, school perimeters, shopping centres, and commercial car parks. Crew and equipment scaled to runs of 30 to 80+ metres.
Early hedging on recently planted screening trees to encourage dense branching from the base, establish form, and build the privacy density you need before the trees get too tall.
Tall screen reductions, boundary hedging, and reshaped privacy plantings. Real tree hedging jobs from Sydney properties.
Tall screens brought under control, sharp boundary lines, scheduled maintenance that stays on time, and full cleanup. These are the hedging results clients mention on Google.
5.0 rating · 150+ reviews
“Ahmed and his team really know their job. They cut back a massive hedge on my property quickly and professionally. Excellent clean up afterwards and very reasonable cost overall. Highly recommend! Thanks Ahmed!”
Lee Jaques
“Adam, Yasmine and their team did a wonderful job pruning and hedging in our yard. The team are thorough, professional and left our yard looking fabulous!”
Denise Wallace
“AA Tree Services Sydney delivered an exceptional service on our property. The work involved cutting down several trees, tree lopping, stump grinding, trimming of tall hedges, and a comprehensive clean-up of the entire site. Ahmed was professional, attentive, and made sure everything was completed to our satisfaction. The team worked efficiently, respected our property, and left it spotless. We’re extremely pleased with the results and will definitely be using their services again next season. Highly recommended.”
Y M
“AA tree services did an amazing job. Very processional. Ahmad know how to cut trees and hedges with great knowledge. Rochelle”
Rochelle Kerr
Tree hedging costs depend on the run length, screen height, species, and how far past its target size the hedge has grown.
The main cost drivers for tree hedging are the length and height of the screen, how far past its target size it has grown, species, and access. Send a photo showing the full run and we can usually quote within a few hours.
A 10-metre boundary screen at 3 metres is a half-day job. A 40-metre strata run at 5 metres tall — needing an EWP on both sides — is a full day or more with a larger crew.
A routine maintenance trim costs a fraction of a major height reduction on screening trees that have been left for two or three years and doubled in size.
Lilly pilly and murraya recover well from hard cutback. Ficus and brush box can be more demanding. Photinia and some conifers may need staged reduction. The species determines how aggressively we can cut and still get dense regrowth.
EWP hire, steep blocks, screens behind pools, and the sheer volume of green waste on tall hedges all affect the quote. Severely overgrown screens may also need tree pruning on the internal structure before the hedge can be reshaped.
Properties on a scheduled hedging cycle get more predictable pricing per visit and screens that stay denser. One-off corrective jobs are always more expensive than staying ahead of the growth.
Council and approval information is general guidance only. Specific rules can still vary by suburb, council, and tree type.
Before booking
If the tree is established, protected, or part of a larger property change, approvals should be checked before major work is booked in.
Once a hedge plant reaches tree size — typically 100–200mm trunk diameter or 3+ metres height — it can fall under the local Tree Preservation Order. Heavy reduction of protected screening trees needs council approval.
Trimming an established screen to its current maintained height and width is normal upkeep and does not usually trigger council rules. The issue arises when you want to reduce it significantly below its maintained size.
Hedges along property boundaries can involve neighbour notification under NSW law, particularly when the hedging will significantly reduce the screening or the plants sit on the boundary line itself.
Completely removing a long-established tree screen — as opposed to reducing it — can fall under vegetation protection rules. Some councils treat established screening hedges the same as individual trees.
Councils can enforce maximum hedge heights along street frontages and near intersections for sightline and pedestrian safety. We check the local rules as part of the quoting process.
Tall hedge reduction generates significant green waste. We chip on site where possible and dispose of all material through licensed facilities. No dumping on nature strips or overloading council bins.
We regularly work on screening hedges from 3 to 8+ metres using EWPs (elevated work platforms), climbing gear, and extended-reach power tools. If the hedge is too tall for a standard ladder and a domestic trimmer, it is the right size for our crew.
Usually, yes. The approach depends on the species and how bare the interior has become. Lilly pilly and murraya recover well from hard cutback — they push new growth quickly from old wood. Ficus is vigorous but can be leggy inside. Photinia and some conifers may need staged reduction over two or three sessions to avoid permanent bare patches.
Most established screening trees need 2 to 4 hedging sessions per year depending on the species and growth rate:
Regular maintenance costs far less per visit than letting the screen overgrow and paying for a major corrective cutback.
Hedge trimming is typically smaller-scale work — shaping knee-to-chest-height boundary plantings with hand shears or a domestic trimmer. Tree hedging is the heavier-duty version — managing screening trees that have reached 3 to 8 metres and need climbing gear, EWPs, and arborist-grade equipment to reach the top safely.
Yes — strata and commercial hedging is a significant part of our workload. We maintain screening runs on apartment complexes, school perimeters, childcare centres, shopping centres, and office parks. Scheduled maintenance contracts with set frequencies are available.
The most common screening species we manage across Sydney:
Routine maintenance — trimming to an existing maintained height — usually does not need approval. But if the screening trees are protected under a local Tree Preservation Order and you want to reduce them significantly below their current size, council approval may be required. We check the rules for your council area before starting.
A routine maintenance visit on a moderate boundary screen might cost a few hundred dollars. A major height reduction on a long, tall, overgrown screen — needing an EWP, full crew, and several truck loads of waste — can run well over a thousand. The main drivers are run length, screen height, species, access, and whether the job is routine or corrective.
Our hedge trimming cost guide gives realistic Sydney pricing.
When to call a professional, warning signs in tall screens, and how to plan a maintenance cycle that keeps your hedging costs predictable.
Comparing DIY vs professional tree services in Sydney? Learn which jobs are safe to tackle yourself and when calling a qualified arborist saves money and risk.
Spot the warning signs your tree needs professional attention before it becomes dangerous. Covers dead branches, trunk cracks, root damage, and leaning.
If the screening trees need individual pruning or one needs to come out entirely, compare these related services.
Deadwood clean-outs, canopy thinning, roofline clearance, and scheduled maintenance pruning for homes, strata, and commercial properties across Sydney.
Heavy canopy reduction for trees pushing into roofs, driveways, boundaries, and power lines — controlled lopping when pruning is no longer enough.
Stump grinding for leftover removals, trip hazards, builder prep, and cleaner outdoor space. Single stumps or multi-stump site cleanups across Sydney.
Find your region for local hedging examples, council rules on tall screening trees, and a direct quote path.
From Bondi to Vaucluse, Randwick to Double Bay — pruning, removals, hedge shaping, and stump grinding for properties where access and presentation both matter.
Covering Sydney CBD, Surry Hills, Redfern, Pyrmont, Waterloo, Zetland, and Alexandria — wherever tight access and urban constraints define the job.
Covering Balmain, Leichhardt, Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Ashfield, and surrounding suburbs — pruning, removals, hedging, and stump grinding for established inner-west properties.
From Mosman and Cremorne through Chatswood, Willoughby, and up to Gordon — mature-tree pruning, crane-assisted removals, hedge maintenance, and stump grinding.
From Manly through Freshwater, Collaroy, Narrabeen, and up to Avalon — storm cleanup, coastal pruning, wind-damage removal, hedge trimming, and stump grinding.
Covering Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, Bella Vista, Cherrybrook, Glenhaven, and Annangrove — removals, pruning, hedging, stump grinding, and land-clearing support.
Covering Parramatta, Auburn, Ermington, Westmead, Carlingford, and Wentworth Point — residential pruning, strata work, builder clearing, and stump grinding.
Covering Ryde, Eastwood, Gladesville, Macquarie Park, Meadowbank, and Putney — pruning, removals, hedge trimming, and stump grinding for homes, schools, and renovation sites.
Covering Hurstville, Kogarah, Rockdale, Bexley, Oatley, Arncliffe, and Sans Souci — residential pruning, removals, hedge trimming, stump grinding, and storm cleanup.
Covering Cronulla, Miranda, Sutherland, Menai, Gymea, Jannali, and Woolooware — storm response, residential pruning, removals, hedge trimming, and stump grinding.
Covering Blacktown, Seven Hills, Rooty Hill, Riverstone, Schofields, and Marsden Park — land clearing, residential pruning, storm cleanup, hedge trimming, and stump grinding.
Covering Bankstown, Canterbury, Campsie, Lakemba, Padstow, and Revesby — residential pruning, removals, redevelopment clearing, hedge trimming, and stump grinding.
Send photos of the screening hedge, the length of the run, and how tall it has grown. We reply with a fixed price and a clear plan for the reduction.
