About This Service
Overgrown shrubs and untrimmed trees turn a well-kept lot into something that looks neglected from the street. We re-cut hedge lines, shape ornamental shrubs back into the form they were planted in, prune fruit trees and dogwoods, and take small trees down to manageable size — up to twenty-five feet. We follow ISA pruning standards (no topping, no flush cuts, no improper collar work) because a tree pruned wrong now grows back into a bigger problem in three seasons.
What We Cut
Hedges: privet, boxwood, holly, yew, juniper, arborvitae. Side-cut and crown trimming with gas hedge shears for the bulk of the cut, hand pruners for the finish detail. Spring shape-up and fall tidy are the two main passes for a formal hedge; informal hedges can usually go on once a year. We mark the cut line by string or laser on long runs so the finished line is straight.
Ornamental shrubs: hydrangea, knockout rose, butterfly bush, lilac, spirea, ninebark, viburnum, forsythia. Different species need different timing — spring-blooming shrubs get pruned right after they finish flowering, summer bloomers get pruned in late winter. We cut to the right node, not to the easiest reach. The goal is a shrub that has the right shape this year and still has the right shape next year.
Small trees up to 25 feet: dogwoods, redbuds, crepe myrtles, Japanese maples, ornamental cherries, ornamental pears, magnolias, juvenile oaks under 25 feet. Crown thinning, deadwood removal, raising the canopy off the roof or driveway, shaping around utility lines (gentle clearance, not flush). Fruit trees — peach, apple, pear, cherry — get trained for productivity and air flow, which is its own season-specific approach.
Where We Work
Springfield, Nixa, Ozark, Republic, Battlefield, Willard for day routes. Joplin and the Tier 1 cities on chained Friday loops. Branson and Hollister around tourist properties — vacation rental hosts call us before the Memorial Day rush every year. Lake of the Ozarks lake homes (Osage Beach, Camdenton, Eldon) for shoreline shrub work and dogwood pruning. Storm-damage cleanup runs through the spring and summer after every major Springfield-area thunderstorm — we handle the small-tree side of the work, partners handle the canopy-takedown side.
Timing By Species
Late winter (February-March): most deciduous tree pruning, summer-blooming shrubs (butterfly bush, knockout rose, hydrangea paniculata), grape vines, blueberry bushes. The structure is visible without leaves, the cuts heal fast as growth resumes, and disease pressure is lowest.
Right after bloom (May-June): spring-flowering shrubs (forsythia, lilac, weigela, mophead hydrangea, azalea, rhododendron). These set next year's buds on this year's wood — pruning later cuts off next spring's flowers.
Mid-summer (July-August): hedge tidies, fruit tree summer prune (water sprouts and crowded branches), formative pruning on juvenile trees. Avoid heavy pruning during drought stress.
Fall and winter (October-February): deadwood removal, structural correction, storm-cleanup, dormant pruning on most species except spring-bloomers.
Who Calls Us For This
Homeowners who realize the hedges grew six inches above the property line last summer. Property managers prepping rentals between tenants. Airbnb hosts in Branson and Table Rock cleaning up before peak season. HOA boards for shared landscape areas — entrance plantings, common-area shrubs, dog parks. Real estate agents prepping listings — overgrown landscaping reads as deferred maintenance to buyers. Out-of-state second-home owners at the lake who can't maintain the shrub line in person.
Cleanup Included
Every job ends with the trimmings off the property. Tarps under the hedge during the cut, debris loaded into the trailer at the end. We blow the hard surfaces clean — driveway, walkway, patio. If a branch fell on a lawn area we rake it. The yard you walk out to is the yard you walk back into, minus the overgrowth.
What We Don't Do
Large tree removal — anything over twenty-five feet, anything near power lines, anything where dropping the whole tree is the right call. Those jobs require dedicated arborists with bucket trucks and rigging gear; we refer to local partners we trust. Stump grinding is a separate trade with its own equipment — we refer those too. Land clearing (multiple trees, brush, undergrowth — clearing a whole lot for construction) isn't our scope. And we don't do chemical treatment for tree disease, pest control, or fertilization — Missouri Department of Agriculture has its own permitting for that work and we work with arborists who do.
Getting Started
Send photos of the shrubs, hedges, or trees you want trimmed, with a note on the species if you know it. Written price back in 24 to 48 hours. Most jobs schedule within the same week. Storm-damage emergency work goes faster — call us same-day and we'll fit it in if we have route capacity.
