Elwood Tree Removal & Pruning
Tree and palm removal and expert pruning in Elwood by a qualified, insured arborist — free quotes, 7 days a week.
- Free quotes
- Fully qualified & insured
- 16+ years

Tree removal and pruning in Elwood, done properly
Big trees, awkward trees, trees over the neighbour’s fence — Elwood has its share, and most of them are perfectly manageable with the right rigging and a crew that does this daily. Aps Tree Removal removes and prunes trees across Elwood and Ripponlea, Balaclava and St Kilda, quotes free, and carries full insurance so the risk is ours, not yours.
The nearest suburbs we also cover are Ripponlea (about a kilometre), Balaclava (about a kilometre), St Kilda (2 km), so a job in Elwood is often paired with one next door.
Where a tree is over a house, a shed or a neighbour’s yard, nothing free-falls. A climber sets rigging points, each limb is tied off, cut and lowered under control, and the trunk comes down in short blocks. It is slower than felling and it is the only safe way to do most Elwood backyards.
Palms are their own job. They are heavy for their size, the fronds and seed pods are a mess, and the trunk fibre blunts saws. We take them down in short sections with the rigging set up so nothing lands where it should not, and we take the trunk away rather than leaving you with something that will not burn and will not rot.
Tree Removal & Pruning in Elwood — what we do
Hazardous tree removal
Dead, leaning, split or storm-damaged trees taken down in sections.
Palm removal
Cocos, cotton and date palms removed trunk and all.
Hazard & clearance pruning
Deadwood out, canopy lifted off roofs, lines and boundaries.
Crown thinning & shaping
Wind through the canopy, light into the garden, the tree kept.
A tip from Api
Get the stump quoted with the tree. Coming back for it separately costs more than doing it on the day, and a stump left in a Elwood lawn is a job you will end up paying for later anyway.
The full service pages: Tree & Palm Removal and Tree Pruning — every one available in Elwood.
Guides from Api: Local tree removal companies in Melbourne: what a good one actually does · Emergency tree removal in Melbourne: what to do first and how fast help comes
Do you need a permit to remove a tree in Elwood?
Before anything is cut in Elwood, the permit question comes first, and the answer depends on City of Port Phillip.
Port Phillip’s Community Amenity Local Law 2023 requires a significant-tree permit before pruning or removing a tree or palm on private land with a trunk circumference of 150 cm or more measured 1 m from its base — a multi-stemmed tree counts if its exterior stems add up to 150 cm, and so does a stump of that size.
The application takes a site plan, photographs or diagrams of the proposed work and, for a body corporate, the committee’s consent; the council arborist reviews it and the council asks for ten business days. Some pruning is exempt under the local law itself.
This permit is in addition to any planning permit: the council also publishes a clear guide to the state canopy-tree clause, and an online checker for both tests.
Source: City of Port Phillip — trees on private property, 03 9209 6424. Read 13 September 2026; councils change their local laws, so Api checks the current rule when he quotes.
Across Victoria since 15 September 2025
Clause 52.37 Canopy Trees
A canopy tree is a tree more than 5 m tall, with a trunk circumference over 0.5 m at 1.4 m above the ground and a canopy at least 4 m across. In a residential zone a planning permit is needed to remove, destroy or lop one in a residential zone if the lot is vacant, or, where there is an existing house, if any part of the trunk is within 6 m of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 m of the rear boundary.
Dead trees, emergency and safety works, maintenance pruning and listed weed species are exempt; councils usually condition a permit on planting a replacement canopy tree, and most decide these through VicSmart in about ten business days.
What this means for you: tell Api where the tree sits on the block and he will tell you whether a permit is needed before anything is cut — and where one is, we can prepare the arborist assessment the application needs.
Tree removal jobs by Api and the crew
Real jobs, real photos — Api, the crew and the truck, across Melbourne’s inner bayside. Nothing staged, nothing stock.
Tree removal around Elwood
The same crew, the same day rates, in the suburbs next door:
Other services in Elwood
Tree services made easy
At Aps Tree Removal, we simplify the tree and hedge removal experience with a clear, step-by-step approach.
Contact us
Want to learn more? Call 0422 856 090 or send the form and speak with Api.
Get a quote
Getting a quote is quick, easy, and free.
On-site inspection
A quick, thorough site assessment — species, access and risks.
Professional removal
Clean and safe work, chipped and cleaned up — no mess, no hassle.
What clients across Melbourne’s inner bayside say
Elwood Tree Removal & Pruning — common questions
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Elwood?
Yes, if the trunk is 150 cm around or more measured 1 m from the base (or the exterior stems of a multi-trunk tree add up to that): Port Phillip requires a significant-tree permit, decided by the council arborist in about ten business days, on top of any planning permit. The state canopy-tree clause applies to smaller trees near a boundary. Across Victoria, Clause 52.37 Canopy Trees also applies since 15 September 2025: a planning permit is needed to remove, destroy or lop one in a residential zone if the lot is vacant, or, where there is an existing house, if any part of the trunk is within 6 m of the narrowest street frontage or 4.5 m of the rear boundary. Api checks both at the quote.
How much does tree removal cost in Elwood?
A small ornamental in an open yard can be a couple of hundred dollars; a large gum over a house is a day with a crew and rigging. Everything in between is quoted to the tree, free, with the clean-up and chipping included.
How long does it take?
A quote is usually within a day or two of your call, and the work within a week or two depending on the season — sooner for anything dangerous.
Can you get in if the access is tight?
Yes. Sectional dismantling with rigging is designed for exactly that: a tree comes down piece by piece in a courtyard without touching a wall.
What happens to the waste?
Chipped on the street and taken away, or left as mulch if you want it. Larger logs are cut to size and removed unless you ask for firewood.
Can you save the tree instead of removing it?
If the tree is structurally sound, usually. A reduction takes weight and height off; thinning lets wind through; a lift gets it off the house. If it is decayed at the base or split, removal is the honest answer, and Api will say so.



