Tree Pruning in Johannesburg

Tree Pruning in Johannesburg

Tree pruning in Johannesburg works best in late winter for most deciduous trees and after flowering for spring bloomers. Send one request with photos of your trees and what worries you, and pruners and arborists who work in Johannesburg can quote for deadwooding, thinning and fruit tree work.

Want to know more first? Our tree pruning guide covers the methods, the choices and what affects the price.

Johannesburg notes on tree care & clean-up

Pruning work in Saxonwold, Melville and around Zoo Lake is mostly deadwood removal, lifting crowns off roofs and thinning plane trees that have been weakened by borer damage. An arborist can tell you whether a tree is worth saving before you pay for felling. Ask for thinning, not topping, and ask whether the chips can stay on site as mulch for the beds along the Braamfontein Spruit side of the garden.

Trees in Johannesburg

Johannesburg is often called one of the largest planted urban forests in the world, and most of that canopy sits in the old northern suburbs. Parktown, Houghton, Saxonwold, Parkview and Melville grew up under plane trees, English oaks, pin oaks, jacarandas and towering bluegums planted a century ago. Many are now old, top heavy and sharing small stands with houses, walls and overhead cables. The shot hole borer beetle has weakened plane trees in parts of the city, and summer thunderstorms bring down limbs that were already dying. Homeowners ask for crown reductions, deadwood removal and sectional felling over roofs. Street trees usually belong to the city, so check with the municipality before anyone cuts a pavement tree.

The requests we see from Johannesburg usually come from:

• Homeowners: deadwooding old shade trees and pruning fruit trees so they stay safe and productive
• Estates, complexes and body corporates: keeping old trees in common areas healthy with a planned pruning cycle
• Schools, churches and municipalities: deadwooding and thinning old trees in parks, school grounds and cemeteries

Local tips for Johannesburg

Tree work, hire and supplies in Johannesburg mostly come from here: teams based in Randburg, Roodepoort and the south, travelling into the northern suburbs. The requests that come up most: sectional felling and crown reduction of century old planes, oaks and bluegums. When you ask for quotes, ask whether the tree is a pavement tree and who has to give permission first.

Requests range widely: young trees to 20 m shade trees. Here, homeowners lead the requests, typically for deadwooding old shade trees and pruning fruit trees so they stay safe and productive. One local point to raise: old plane trees, English and pin oaks, bluegums and large jacarandas.

Service area: Johannesburg and surrounds

Tree fellers, hire yards and suppliers on our network work in Johannesburg and surrounding areas, including Sandton, Randburg, Roodepoort, Soweto, Rosebank, Fourways, Melville. Give the suburb and a rough idea of the job, so the quote can allow for travel and the right crew and machines.

Frequently asked questions