Mount Cottrell Hedge Pruning & Trimming
Hedge trimming, shaping and hard reductions in Mount Cottrell — privacy screens up to 10 m, formal hedges, every clipping taken away.
- Free quotes
- Fully qualified & insured
- 16+ years

Hedge pruning and trimming in Mount Cottrell, done properly
Aps Tree Removal has cut hedges in Mount Cottrell and Chartwell, Eynesbury and Tarneit for over 16 years, from waist-high box to boundary screens taller than the house. We time the cut to the plant, take the clippings away, and come back on a schedule if you want the shape kept year after year.
The nearest suburbs we also cover are Chartwell (2 km), Eynesbury (6 km), Tarneit (7 km), so a job in Mount Cottrell is often paired with one next door. 3 of the reviews on this site are from customers in Chartwell, Eynesbury and Tarneit, next door to Mount Cottrell. Going by those reviews, the work around Mount Cottrell has mostly been clean-up and mulching (2) and tree removal (1).
For a maintenance trim we set string lines on anything formal, cut the faces flat with a slight batter so the bottom keeps its leaves, level the top, and collect the clippings on sheets as we go. Tall screens are done from platforms and ladders with long-reach hedge trimmers, and the chipper deals with the pile on the street.
We start every hedge with a look at the species and the condition, because that decides how hard it can be cut. Then the faces are cut to a line, the top levelled, the base cleared, and the clippings collected on sheets and chipped. On a tall screen the crew works from platforms and ladders with long-reach trimmers; nobody stands on a wobbly ladder in a garden bed.
Hedge Pruning & Trimming in Mount Cottrell — what we do
Tall privacy hedges
Screens and boundary hedges up to 10 m, from platforms.
Formal hedges
String-lined faces, level tops, crisp corners.
Hard reductions
Overgrown hedges brought back to a workable size.
Clippings removed
Chipped and taken away; nothing left on the drive.
A tip from Api
Trim formal hedges in late spring and again in late summer; screens once a year in late winter or early autumn. Avoid cutting in a heatwave — freshly cut foliage scorches.
The full service pages: Hedge Trimming and Green Waste Removal — every one available in Mount Cottrell.
Guides from Api: Emergency tree removal in Melbourne: what to do first and how fast help comes · When to trim hedges in Melbourne: a season-by-season maintenance schedule
Do you need a permit to remove a tree in Mount Cottrell?
Homeowners in Mount Cottrell ask this more than anything else, so here is Melton’s rule as the council publishes it.
Melton sits on the Victorian Volcanic Plain, where only about one per cent of the original grasslands and grassy woodlands survive, so native vegetation is tightly controlled: a planning permit is required from the council to remove, destroy or lop it under Clause 52.17, and inside the Urban Growth Boundary Clause 52.16 and the Native Vegetation Precinct Plans in the estate structure plans apply instead.
Threatened species and habitat can also bring in the Commonwealth EPBC Act. None of that touches a planted exotic in a suburban yard.
What does apply to every residential lot is the state canopy-tree clause — large trees near the street or rear boundary need a planning permit.
Source: Melton City Council — trees on private property. 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.
Hedge trimming jobs by Api and the crew
Real jobs, real photos — Api, the crew and the truck, across Melbourne’s outer west. Nothing staged, nothing stock.
What customers near Mount Cottrell say
Catherine C
Chartwell · June 2022

“I have used APS Tree Removal Service previously and would use again. They provide a good service and I would Recommend them.”
Doris
Tarneit · June 2022

Great job fantastic clean up
Doris J
Tarneit · June 2022

Definitely on time cleaned up nice people
Hedge trimming around Mount Cottrell
The same crew, the same day rates, in the suburbs next door:
Other services in Mount Cottrell
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 outer west say
Mount Cottrell Hedge Pruning & Trimming — common questions
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Mount Cottrell?
For native vegetation, yes — Melton requires a planning permit to remove, destroy or lop it under Clause 52.17 (Clause 52.16 inside the growth areas), and the Commonwealth can be involved on the western grasslands. For a planted exotic tree the state canopy-tree clause is what applies, if the tree is near a boundary in a residential zone. 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 hedge trimming cost in Mount Cottrell?
Length, height, growth and access — with the clippings included. A regular annual trim in Mount Cottrell costs far less than a first cut on a hedge that has had five years off. Api quotes free.
How long does it take?
Usually within a fortnight, and we will suggest a better time of year if you have asked for a hard cut in the wrong one.
Can you get in if the access is tight?
Yes — and where the far side is the neighbour’s, we will speak to them so both faces can be done properly.
What happens to the waste?
Sheets under the hedge, everything raked and chipped, driveway and path blown. The mulch is yours if you want it; otherwise it goes to a green-waste recycler.
My hedge is bare at the bottom and too tall — can it be fixed?
It depends on the species. Many can be brought back with a staged reduction; a few cannot and are better replaced. We will give you a straight answer at the quote rather than sell you a cut that will not work.



