Are the wonderful trees in your garden looking somewhat dishevelled? Perhaps they could do with a bit of a trim? Who knows! Unless you’re an expert arborist, it’s OK if you don’t know everything there is to know about caring for the trees on your property (particularly if you’ve just moved in).
In any case, there are some great benefits to keeping your trees regularly trimmed. The question is though, how often should you have your trees trimmed and what is it going to cost you?
But before we get to that, let’s talk about the benefits.
Four reasons why trimming your tree is important:
1 – Appearance
Trees that are not regularly trimmed will grow to become unbalanced and often misshapen. You’ll find branches sprouting off in odd directions, creating an uneasy appearance. Think of trimming as a much needed haircut, only this one is for your tree and it helps to enhance its natural shape altogether. Thinning out the limbs and cutting back and branches that stray too far from the rest ultimately helps keep your trees looking beautiful.
2 – Landscape uniformity
If you’ve never trimmed your trees that your landscape’s aesthetic is going to be all over the place. But not just that, having densely packed branches can stop the sun and rain from reaching all of the plant life beneath, affecting their growth.
With regular trimming of your trees you will ensure that enough sunlight and nutrients can make its way through the branches, allowing the surrounding plant-life to thrive. Not to mention how freeing up limbs can help you improve your view.
3 – Health
It is no secret that well-groomed trees are healthier and live longer. Trimming for the health of the tree (or pruning) involves the removal of branches that are weak and diseased or infested, thus hindering the tree’s healthy growth. Doing so regularly will keep it strong, developing a better structure and reducing the need for corrective pruning in the future.
4 – Safety
Trees, when left to their own devices, grow wild and unruly. Thus, the weaker, diseased, or infested branches are more likely to snap off during a severe storm with heavy winds. This can result in damaged property and even serious injury for anyone unlucky enough to be around when it happens! The good news is that it can easily be prevented.
If anything, do it for the fact that it is great for the environment! With the amount of CO2 that we are pumping into the atmosphere as a global community, we need every single tree that we can get. If that’s not a good enough reason to keep your trees happy and healthy, then I don’t know what is!
How much does it cost to have someone trim your trees?
The cost of having your trees trimmed really depends on where you are in Australia, which company you use, and a number of other factors which we will cover shortly. That being said, we can give you an average estimation to give you an idea as what to expect:
- Small trees (up to 10 metres): $200 – $500
- Medium trees (10 – 20 metres): $300 – $800
- Large trees (above 20 metres): $500 – $3,000
Again, these are approximations and not to be taken as gospel.
What do tree trimmers charge per hour?
In general, most arborists in Australia will charge around the $70 per hour mark. However, their hourly rate will not reflect the cost of the job itself, not necessarily. As mentioned above, there are a number of factors that can influence the overall cost of the finished job, such as:
- How many workers are required?
- What other equipment is needed?
- How dangerous is the job?
- How tall is the tree?
- How many trees are required?
- Is there much accessibility?
In any case, the averages offered above should give you a fairly accurate idea as to what you will be quoted. Just be sure to shop around until you find the right quote from a company that resonates well with you.
How often should you have someone trim your trees?
The good thing is, most mature trees only really need to be trimmed once every 3 to 5 years, with youngers trees wanting 2 to 3.
If you have fruit trees, they should be pruned yearly.
Evergreens can go many years without needing even a single cut.
In any case, if you aren’t quite sure how often your tree species in question requires, then contact your local arborist and find out. Someone reputable like Lakeside Trees and Stumps will be able to advise you on absolutely anything tree related, whilst offering incredible value to boot!
Conclusion
How much is it going to cost you to get your tree trimmed? Well, it depends on the size. An average tree will likely end up costing you anywhere between $300 and $800. Provided there is easy access to the tree in question and no additional machinery (i.e., an elevated work platform) is required, the estimates provided shouldn’t vary too much.
The good thing is that you may not need to have your tree trimmed again for another 3 to 5 years (depending on the species of course). Thus, it is definitely a worthwhile investment, given the practical benefits that come with it.
