Tree Removal
Full removals and dismantles, from a dead wattle in a courtyard to a 25-metre gum over a roofline.
Learn more →What the job actually is
People ring asking for lopping. What they usually want is one of four things: clearance from a roof, gutter or power service; weight taken off a limb that has started to sag; deadwood cleared out of the canopy before it drops; or the whole crown brought down in height so the tree stops dominating the yard.
All four are achievable with proper pruning technique - cutting back to a lateral of adequate size, outside the branch collar, so the tree can compartmentalise the wound. None of them require cutting through a limb at a random point and walking away, which is what the word "lopping" describes in the trade.
The difference shows up years later. A reduced tree keeps its shape and stays structurally sound. A topped tree produces dense regrowth attached only to the outer few millimetres of decaying wood, and that regrowth is what comes through a roof in the next serious blow. If the distinction is new to you, what tree lopping is covers it properly.
Coastal conditions, hinterland conditions
The coastal strip and the range behind it are two different working environments.
On the coast - Mooloolaba, Kawana, Coolum, Peregian - the constraints are salt-laden wind, shallow sandy profiles, small lots and tight canal frontages where the drop zone is a pontoon. Trees here are often pushed hard by onshore wind and carry a permanent lean. Norfolk Island pines, cocos palms, tuckeroos and coastal banksias dominate.
Inland and up the Blackall Range - Maleny, Montville, Nambour, Beerwah - the blocks are bigger, the soil is deep red basalt, and the trees are enormous. Big old figs, hoop pines and flooded gums on steep ground, with the added complication that a tree on a 20-degree slope has a very different failure direction to the same tree on flat ground.
Find your suburb
Each of these pages covers the local conditions, the council that applies and the species we see most in that area.
- Maroochydore - riverfront, older housing stock, big poincianas
- Mooloolaba - canal frontages and tight access
- Buderim - escarpment blocks, red soil, heritage trees
- Caloundra - coastal exposure and Norfolk pines
- Kawana - reclaimed land and narrow estate lots
- Sippy Downs - young estate plantings outgrowing their spot
- Mountain Creek - creek-line vegetation and estate covenants
- Nambour - old cane country, mixed hill blocks
- Coolum Beach - dune vegetation and strict protection
- Peregian Beach - Noosa Council rules, fire recovery
- Noosa Heads - the strictest controls on the coast
- Noosaville - river flats and canal lots
- Maleny - Blackall Range, steep ground, giant figs
- Montville - ridge-top exposure and rainforest remnants
- Beerwah - acreage, Glass House backdrop, hoop pines
Not listed? The service areas page has the full coverage map, and the number is (07) 5408 6029.
More services
Explore our other services
Stump Grinding
Grinding the stump and surface roots 200-300mm below grade so the ground can be turfed or built on.
Learn more →Stump Removal
Full excavation of the stump and root plate where a footing, pool or driveway is going in.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between lopping and pruning?
Lopping is the everyday word people use when they want a tree cut back. In arboriculture it has a narrower and less flattering meaning: indiscriminate cutting through limbs without regard to branch structure. What a good crew actually does is reduction and thinning to Australian Standard AS 4373, which achieves the same clearance without the regrowth problem.
How much can you take off a tree?
As a working rule, no more than about a quarter of the live canopy in a single season, and less on a stressed or mature tree. Taking more forces a flush of weak epicormic growth, exposes bark that has never seen direct sun, and can push a tree that was coping into decline.
When is the best time to prune on the Sunshine Coast?
Late winter into early spring for most structural work, so the tree has the whole growing season to seal its wounds. Safety work - deadwood, hung-up limbs, storm damage - is done whenever it is found. Avoid heavy reduction in the middle of a hot dry spell.
Do you prune palms?
Yes. Dead frond removal, seed head bagging and skirt clean-ups on cocos, Alexandra and Bangalow palms. Green fronds are left on: a palm has no secondary growth and stripping it back to a pencil-top starves it.
Will you top my tree if I ask you to?
No. Topping creates a hazard that shows up three to five years later as weakly attached regrowth snapping out of a decayed stub. If the clearance you need cannot be achieved by reduction, the honest answer is removal, and we will say so rather than take the money.
Free, no-obligation