Tree Felling, Explained
Real pricing, the Cape Town permit rules nobody explains, and the practical advice our crew gives every day across the Peninsula.
How to Cut Down a Tree Safely (And When to Stop)
Most people searching for how to cut down a tree are really asking a different question: can I do this one myself? Here is the sequence a trained feller works through, what the hinge actually does, and the situations where the honest answer is to put the saw down and phone someone.
Blue Gum Tree Removal in Cape Town
A mature blue gum in a Cape Town garden sits in an odd legal spot: the species is listed as an invasive, but a big urban trunk is often specifically exempt from the duty to remove it. Here is which gums are actually listed, the tape-measure test that decides it, why cutting one down never finishes the job, and what a safe take-down in a suburb actually involves.
10 Signs a Tree Needs to Be Removed (And When It Doesn't)
Most of the trees people ask us to remove don't need removing. This is the honest diagnostic list — what a lean, a bracket fungus, a hollow trunk, a crack or a cut root really tells you, which signs mean act today, and which ones a prune will settle.
PSHB Treatment Options in Cape Town: What Works
You've found the holes. Now what? An honest look at every PSHB treatment on offer in Cape Town, what the research actually shows about injections and sprays, the three legal ways to destroy infested wood, and how to tell when felling is the only option left.
Heritage Protection Overlay Zones in Cape Town: What They Mean for Your Trees
If your property falls in a Heritage Protection Overlay Zone, the tree in your garden is covered by a second rulebook that has nothing to do with its species. Here's how to check whether you're in one, what the City actually requires before a tree comes out, and what the law lets the City do if you cut first.
Why Are My Palm Fronds Brown and Drooping? (Cape Town Guide)
Brown, drooping fronds are the most common palm complaint we get in Cape Town. Here's how to tell normal frond death from a palm in trouble, what the salt wind and the soil are doing to it, and why the tight 'hurricane cut' so many contractors sell will slowly kill your palm.
PSHB Host Trees: Which Cape Town Trees Are at Risk
Not every tree is in equal danger from the polyphagous shot hole borer, and the difference is worth knowing before you panic or relax. Here's FABI's current host list read through a Cape Town garden lens: the six trees that die, the long middle list, the ones you can leave alone, and how to inspect yours properly.
Port Jackson & Rooikrans: What Cape Town Landowners Must Do
Port Jackson and rooikrans are both Category 1b listed invasives, which means controlling them is a legal duty and not a gardening preference. Here's how to tell the two apart, what the law actually asks of you, why a chainsaw on its own never finishes the job, and what plot clearing really costs.
Arboricultural Health & Structural Pruning: A Cape Town Homeowner's Guide for 2026
Get structural pruning right while a tree is young and you save money, headaches and possibly your roof. Here's how Cape Town arborists correct weak forks and codominant stems before a southeaster finds them.
Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer Beetle: Cape Town Guide
The polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) is a 2 mm beetle that's already killed thousands of trees across Cape Town. Here's how to recognise the signs, which trees are most at risk, exactly what to do if yours is infested, and why moving the wood is the one mistake that spreads it to your whole street.
List of Protected Trees in South Africa
The complete, searchable list of South Africa's 51 nationally protected tree species — what 'protected' really means, the actual penalty for cutting one down (it's not the R5 million you've read about), how to apply for a felling licence, and the protected trees you'll find around Cape Town.
How to Kill a Tree Stump (South Africa Guide)
A straight-talking guide to killing a tree stump in South Africa — which chemical and natural methods genuinely work, the myths that waste your time, what removal costs in Rands, and when it's worth calling a crew.
Tree Felling Cost in Cape Town: The Honest 2026 Price Guide
Nobody in Cape Town publishes tree felling prices, so here they are. Real 2026 ranges by tree size, stump grinding priced on diameter, palms priced on height, what storm call-outs cost after hours, and how to tell a fair quote from an underquote.
Do You Need a Permit to Fell a Tree in Cape Town?
Most garden trees can be felled without paperwork — but protected indigenous species and heritage trees can't. Here's how to tell the difference before you cut, and how to handle a Cape Town permit.
Tree Felling vs Pruning: Which Does Your Tree Actually Need?
Before you fell a tree, check whether good pruning would fix the problem instead. Here's how Cape Town arborists decide between cutting a tree back and taking it down for good.
Storm-Damaged Trees in Cape Town: What to Do (and What Not To)
A Cape winter storm has dropped a tree on your roof or split a limb over the driveway. Here's exactly what to do first, what to leave to the professionals, and how to handle the insurance side.
Skip the reading. Get a quote.
Send us a photo of the tree and your suburb — we'll come out, take a look and give you an honest fixed price, with no obligation.
