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

Hedge pruning and trimming in Spotswood, done properly
A hedge is the one plant in a Spotswood garden that is meant to be cut, and cut properly: flat faces, a slight taper so the bottom gets light, and clippings gone the same day. Aps Tree Removal trims and prunes hedges of every size across Spotswood and Melbourne’s bayside west — from a knee-high box border to a 10 m pittosporum screen along a boundary.
The nearest suburbs we also cover are Yarraville (about a kilometre), Newport (2 km), Kingsville (2 km), so a job in Spotswood is often paired with one next door. 6 of the reviews on this site are from customers in Yarraville, Newport and Kingsville, next door to Spotswood.
Overgrown boundary hedges — the ones that have swallowed the path or leaned into next door — are cut back to a straight face, thinned where they are congested, and the base cleared so you can see what you have. If the neighbour’s side needs doing too, that can be arranged with them.
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.
Hedge Pruning & Trimming in Spotswood — 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
If a hedge is over 3 m, get it cut by people with platforms rather than a ladder on a gravel path. Most hedge accidents are falls, not cuts.
The full service pages: Hedge Trimming and Green Waste Removal — every one available in Spotswood.
Guides from Api: Hedge trimming contracts: what a regular hedge maintenance plan covers in Melbourne · Hedge trimming services in Melbourne: what is included and how the job is done
Do you need a permit to remove a tree in Spotswood?
Spotswood is in the Hobsons Bay City Council area, and that decides whether a permit is needed before a tree comes down.
Hobsons Bay protects trees on private land two ways. Under the Community Local Law 2025 a permit is required to remove, damage or interfere with a “significant tree” — a tree or palm with a trunk circumference of 110 cm or more measured 1.5 m above the ground, a multi-stemmed tree whose exterior stems add up to 110 cm, or a stump of that size — including one that overhangs from next door.
The application goes through the council’s permit portal; the fee is $137 (half for concession-card holders), the owner has to be the applicant, and the council asks for 15 business days. A permit is also needed to touch any tree on council land, including the nature strip.
The state canopy-tree clause applies on top, so a smaller tree near the front or rear boundary can need a planning permit even when it is under the local-law size.
Source: Hobsons Bay City Council — trees on private property, 1300 179 944. 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 bayside west. Nothing staged, nothing stock.
What customers near Spotswood say
Virginia S
Newport · May 2020

Very prompt in providing written quote and in organising to do the work. Turned up at agreed time.
Michael
Newport · May 2020

Yes, we were very happy with their service. Very friendly and great job.
John
Port Melbourne · Nov 2023

Api ticked all of the boxes of providing an awesome customer service- prompt, great price, courteous, awesome job and the list goes on… Nothing too difficult! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this service to anyone!! Thanks once again Api.
Hedge trimming around Spotswood
The same crew, the same day rates, in the suburbs next door:
Other services in Spotswood
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 bayside west say
Spotswood Hedge Pruning & Trimming — common questions
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Spotswood?
Yes, if the trunk measures 110 cm around or more at 1.5 m above the ground (single trunk, or the stems of a multi-trunk tree added together): Hobsons Bay calls that a significant tree and requires a local-law permit ($137, about 15 business days). Smaller trees still fall under the state canopy-tree clause if they sit 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 hedge trimming cost in Spotswood?
By the size of the hedge and the amount of growth: a light annual trim costs a lot less than a restoration cut. Regular customers pay less per visit because the hedge never gets away. Call 0422 856 090 or send photos.
How long does it take?
A few hours for a standard trim in Spotswood; a day for a long, tall or badly overgrown hedge. Booked to the right season for the species.
Can you get in if the access is tight?
Yes. Narrow paths, hedges against a wall, and hedges you can only reach from the neighbour’s side — we deal with all of them, and speak to the neighbour if we need to.
What happens to the waste?
Every clipping is raked up, chipped on site and taken away. Hedge mulch is fine on garden beds if you want it kept; otherwise it goes to a green-waste recycler.
My hedge is bare at the bottom and too tall — can it be fixed?
Often. Pittosporum, lilly pilly, photinia, viburnum and murraya all come back from a staged reduction. If yours is a cypress that has gone brown inside, Api will tell you honestly that replacing it is the better spend.



