Gordonvale to Port Douglas
Tree pruning and trimming in Cairns
Pruning before the wet is what lets a big mango or fig stay beside the house: dead wood out, the roof cleared and the crown opened so the wind passes through.
Pruning and trimming
Four kinds of cut
Clearing dead wood
Dead and snapped branches taken out before a storm brings them down.
Lifting off the roof
Branches over the roof and gutters cut back so leaves and fruit stop landing where they block a downpipe.
Thinning the crown
A few branches removed right back to where they start, so the canopy lets wind through without changing its shape.
Shortening a heavy limb
A long limb over the house cut back to a side branch, so the weight comes off without leaving a stub to rot.
How it works
From the first message to a written quote
The council question is settled before any price, and nothing is booked until you have said yes to a quote in writing.
- 1
Tell us what the tree is doing
Where it stands, what it hangs over and what you would like done about it.
- 2
A contractor comes to see it
A tree contractor who covers your suburb looks at the tree, the access and what is underneath it.
- 3
The council question is answered
Whether it is pruning council lets you do, or a removal that needs approval, is settled before the price.
- 4
You get it in writing
Scope, timber, stump and date on one page, and nothing is booked until you have said yes.
Pruning questions
Approval and timing
Do I need approval to prune?
Usually not. Council lists removal of deadwood, removal of hazardous limbs, crown lifting, formative pruning, selective pruning and crown thinning as work you can do without council approval.
When should I prune before the wet?
In the dry months, so weight is off the tree before the first storms.
How often does a big tree need it?
In the tropics, more often than down south. A large tree near the house is usually worth looking at every year or two.
