Tree services and tree care

Which tree job is yours?

Taking a tree out. Tree removal covers felling a tree whole where there's room, and taking it down bit by bit where there isn't.

Cutting a tree back. Tree trimming and pruning is for branches on the roof, a crown blocking the sun or the view, and deadwood (dead branches still on the tree).

Hedges and shelter belts. Hedge trimming covers the front-yard hedge and the long rows of macrocarpa or pine on a lifestyle block.

What's left behind. Stump grinding deals with the stump, and tree root removal with roots under lawns, paths or drains.

After a storm. Storm damage starts with safety, then making the tree safe, then photos and insurance.

The rest. Land and shelter belt clearing, arborist reports when a tree needs assessing in writing, and palm trees.

Tree surgeon, tree care, arborist: is it the same person?

Mostly, yes. Tree surgeon is an older word, still heard in Britain, for someone who cuts and looks after trees. Here the trade is arboriculture and the person is an arborist, and tree care means keeping a tree healthy and safe as well as taking it down.

Arboriculture courses run from an introductory Level 2 certificate up to the New Zealand Diploma in Arboriculture at Level 6, so it's fair to ask what an arborist holds. See checking an arborist.

Two things to check before any tree job

Is the tree protected? Your council's district plan (in Auckland, the Unitary Plan) lists notable trees and can protect others by where they grow, and work on a protected tree needs resource consent. Start with our tree removal permits page.

Is it near a power line? Only approved utility arborists may work within 4 m of a network line, so a tree in the wires on the street goes to your lines company. Our trees and power lines guide explains who does what.

If a tree has come down and anyone is hurt or in danger, call 111 first.

Torn between two jobs? Pick the closer one and describe the tree; an arborist can say what it really needs once they've seen it.