Pine Pruning Cost In 2024. Price Guide. How To Prune A Tree Yourself.

Reviewed by Pavel Buyeu
Updated: 04/21/2024

How much does pine pruning cost?

Do you need to prune a pine in your garden? Find out now the price and all the useful information. On LocalProBook you will find the best professionals in your area. Ask for quotes, compare costs, services and choose the professional that's right for you.

Pine pruning: the price guide

If you are wondering what the cost of pruning pine is, or the cost of felling a pine in your garden, reading this guide will not only get you an idea of the costs of pruning or felling, but you will also find out how to best cope this kind of intervention, how to comply with the necessary felling permits, and much more.

Whether you need to prune a pine tree in your garden or have it cut down, in this guide, you will find all the essential information that will help you determine the cost of pine pruning and make the final decision.

Cost of pine pruning: average market prices

The following are an average of the costs of pine pruning or for cutting down a pine in a private garden:

Job type from to
Cost of pruning pine up to 20ft high $85 - $285
Cost of pruning pine over six 20ft high in height $285 - $650
Cost of felling pine of small or medium size $190 - $520
Cost of felling tall pine $430 - $850

PLEASE NOTE that prices may vary depending on the type of work to be performed, the quality of execution of the interventions, and based on the region in which you are located.

The cost of pine pruning and its advantages

The cost of pine pruning pays off with the many benefits of periodic and well-done pruning. The main of these are listed below:

  • Pruning pine involves removing deadwood, stimulating plant growth, and strengthening it. This is the main benefit that alone justifies the cost of pine pruning.
  • Periodic pruning of the pine increases the tree's ability to defend itself against pests ;and diseases, and this is also an important benefit to the health and life of the pine itself.

What affects the cost of pine pruning?

The cost of pine pruning depends on a number of factors, including the number and height of trees to be pruned, the time required to carry out the pruning operation, and the hourly rate of the company that will take care of the pine pruning operations. An important factor that determines the cost of pine pruning is given by the need or not to equip a possible mobile platform to reach the necessary height at which to perform the cut.

If you need to prune a pine that is just a few years old, you could avoid the cost of pine pruning by doing it yourself, if you have the right tools and some pruning basics. For the cutting of pine trees of medium and large dimensions, it will be better for you to rely on a professional or a specialized company. In this way, you can speed up the time needed to prune the pines in your garden, and in the face of the expense to be faced for the cost of pine pruning you can avoid taking on the risk of having to work at large and medium heights, without adequate equipment and a sufficient level of security.

And if you need to have a pine cut down in a private garden, you will hardly be able to do it yourself, and you will therefore have to rely on a specialized company and face the cost of cutting down the pine. These kinds of interventions, in fact, are quite dangerous, and require a fair amount of experience and special equipment to be carried out quickly and in complete safety. It goes without saying that the cost of felling pine generally represents a cost that is not too low.

Furthermore, the removal of the remains of the pine requires a considerable effort and a higher cost of felling the pine. In addition to transport and disposal costs, you will also have to pay for the removal of the stump and roots, which could be very extensive and deep, depending on the variety of pine to be removed, and lead to an increase in the cost of felling the pine.

How pine pruning is done

The techniques that can be used in pine pruning are different, and each of them has different purposes. While they all have in common the function of ensuring healthier growth and optimal development of the pine, the various techniques are typically used for specific purposes and can result in different pine pruning costs.

Below we list some of the pine pruning techniques and their purposes:

  • Thinning: serves to strengthen the pine by removing dry or dead branches, helping it to concentrate nourishment towards the most vital branches. Among the pruning techniques, thinning is the one that involves a higher cost of pine pruning.

  • Shortening: this is done to give a more orderly shape to the crown of the pine. It can also be useful for balancing the weight of the voluminous branches of the pine that often tend to protrude excessively compared to the base of the tree, whose cut always affects the cost of pine pruning significantly.

  • Maintenance: serves to give uniformity to a row of pine trees, so that they all have the same shape and height. Among the pruning techniques, maintenance trimming typically has a low cost of pine pruning.

The cutting of large trunks and branches will be performed with professional cutting equipment, such as chainsaws and hatchets, the use of which could lead to an increase in the cost of pine pruning.

Permits for cutting down a pine tree

Almost all states do not require a pine pruning permit. Some states still require a permit. Requirements may vary even for different cities in the same state. For example, in Tallahassee, Florida, if a tree trunk is 36 inches in diameter, a permit must be obtained. In Miami, the requirement to obtain a permit is to remove more than 25% of the tree. And in Jacksonville, a tree over four feet tall can only be removed with permission from local authorities.

Before you conclude a contract with a local pro or do the work yourself, you need to clarify this issue. If you hire a professional, then he should explain everything to you.

How to prune a tree yourself

When and how to prune a tree

Tree pruning is not just a 'hair styling' operation. It is also and above all a way to give new vigor to the plant, so as to make it more generous in the case of fruit trees. It also allows you to keep under control the excessive foliation and the number of dry branches. That said, the first question to ask is whether or not it is the right time to arm yourself with scissors and a hacksaw and proceed with the pruning of your trees.

In general, it is advisable to prune during the rest period of the plants, the so-called vegetative stage that starts from autumn, with the fall of the leaves, and arrives in spring, with the rebirth of the shoots. There are several exceptions, such as very luxuriant plants and trees, see the peach tree and the vine, which are lightened with green pruning, i.e. in full season, only to remove excess leaves. The days also follow a specific calendar, which is the lunar one. As is well known, the Moon regulates many of the activities related to agriculture and gardening, for example, sowing and also grafting. The most favorable time for tree pruning is that of the waning moon.

Having established that the right conditions are in place, it is important to know the basic technique for pruning trees. Here are some indications that will be useful on how to proceed with the cutting operations:

Work on top of the gem, leaving 5-10 millimeters of distance and with an inclination of about 45°. Remember that a precise cut limits the stress on the plant. The branches of fruit trees are not all productive: some species produce buds only on the most recent branches, others on the older ones, still others on both. You will have to inform yourself, so as to intervene selectively. In the case of lightning pruning, however, you can proceed with greater freedom of action. 

Pruning trees: hobby or professional activity? But is pruning trees a gardening activity or a profession? It essentially depends on three factors: how many plants are there, where they are positioned and what their dimensions are, in particular their height. Do-it-yourself is recommended when accessibility and plant height does not jeopardize your personal safety and when pruning operations can be done with tools readily available in gardening stores. Time is also a factor that you will need to consider: if you have a lot of plants and time is short, the final result may be approximate and unsatisfactory. In the event that these conditions are not met independently - tall trees, unsuitable equipment, excessive effort - it is advisable to contact a professional who will guarantee you the 'state of the art' execution and the optimization of times and costs.

What tools to use for tree pruning

In the list below, we list the basic tools for pruning plants and trees and their functionality:

- Scissors and hand hacksaw - Pruning shears can be single-blade or double-blade. Those with a single blade are suitable for cutting more seasoned branches and do not require particular effort thanks to the swing mechanism, in which the blade cuts while resting on the other piece in the shape of an anvil. Those with double blades, on the other hand, are used for clean cuts on younger branches. As for the hacksaws, on the other hand, the saws are very useful, available with straight or curved blades and of different sizes. The blades are designed to make precise cuts and thus avoid the dangers of plant infections.

- Pruner - Indispensable when you have to work from the ground at heights between 10 and 16 ft's on average, even if extensible rods up to 25 ft's are available on the market. These are blades mounted on telescopic rods that allow you to work with precision and in total safety even without using the stairs. Loppers - These are specialized shears for gardening work and, depending on the model and the length of the operating levers, allow you to cut branches up to 1.5-2 inches thick.

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