Cost to Prune Trees and Shrubs – 2021

| Last Updated: August 23, 2021

National Average Improvement and Repair Cost

Pro

DIY

Hours:

2.5

3

Cost:

$ 95

$ 45

Would you do this project? According to our survey, 54% of respondents preferred DIY compared to hiring a pro.

The average price to Prune Trees and Shrubs noted above is cost data to compare a contractor’s estimate with doing it yourself.

What’s the cost of pruning a tree or bush? The contractor cost to prune trees and shrubs is $95 vs. doing it yourself for $45 and saving 52 percent. 

To improve the overall health and appearance of trees and shrubs, give them a good pruning and thinning. Just as we go to a hairstylist for shaping and styling, trees and shrubbery need that same attention to enhance their size and shape.

You’ll get the best advice about when to prune from a local lawn and garden center. They can tell you the most advantageous time to prune and thin specific trees and plants native to your area.

If you hire a landscape service to prune and groom a small tree and a couple of bushes, you can expect to pay $95 for the job, which includes labor and material. If you have a pair of pruning shears and loppers, you can do the job. Even figuring the cost of shears and loppers, which will run about $45, you’ll save 52 percent on the first pruning project. Then you will have the tools and the next job won’t cost you anything.

A pruning shear, also called a hand-held snipper, is the tool of choice for cutting away excess or dried ends of woody plants and shrubs. The tool’s convenient size makes it easy to maneuver in the tight confines of an overgrown bush or shrub. The more heavy-duty long handles of a pair of loppers produce a strong cutting force at the blade so they ease the job of trimming and cutting heavy branches. Switch to loppers when pruning shears can’t penetrate a thick branch. Each tool has its strengths, and when you use them together they’ll get the job done year in and year out.

Here’s advice from Precision Landscape and Tree 5 Must Have Pruning Tools.

The Gardening Mentor has this advice How to Use Pruning to Make Your Trees Happy.

The bottom line: compare the price of a contractor’s bid to prune trees and shrubs with what it costs to do it yourself and make your decision.

For more gardening help, check out these related articles:

Welcome! We hope you’ll find the job costs of home improvement projects useful when you’re deciding whether to do a job yourself vs. hire a contractor. We’re the authors of 20 home improvement books, most notably Home Improvement for Dummies©, Bathroom Remodeling for Dummies©, Carpentry for Dummies©, Plumbing for Dummies©, and Painting and Wallpapering for Dummies©. Our most recent book Fix It and Flip It is in its second edition. We’ve appeared as home improvement experts on television programs such as CNN, Dateline, the Today Show, HGTV and many others.