Simpson Trees and Stumps

Simpson Trees and Stumps is a family owned business based in Ballarat and run by Chris Simpson, a qualified arborist with over 25 years in the industry. The business is fully insured and works across Ballarat and out to a 150 km radius, which takes the job list well past the city and into the surrounding farming districts.

The speciality is the awkward end of the trade: large tree removals in confined spaces. Tree removal most often comes down to a tree planted in a bad position in the first place, and the rest are dead, decayed, gone in the trunk to white ants, poorly rooted or fouling services. Where a tree cannot simply be felled in one piece, it gets dismantled in a way that suits the space it is standing in.

Tree pruning is treated as maintenance rather than a haircut. Done properly it lengthens the life of the tree and leaves it looking better, and it is the answer to a canopy throwing too much shade, catching too much wind or working away at a roof. The advice on the site is specific about timing: deadwooding and weight reduction on most trees should be carried out every 2 to 4 years to stop limbs failing.

Stump grinding is less of an afterthought than it looks. As the business points out, if the roots of the old tree are left in the ground they can go on to damage whatever is planted or built in its place, so the job is about clearing the ground properly rather than levelling off the part you can see. The grinders used will get into tight spots where a larger machine has no chance.

Woodchipping deals with what comes off the tree, and the mulch that results goes back to use instead of to the tip. There is a quick response emergency team for the jobs that will not keep, and the line on the site is blunt: if a tree looks like a safety risk, ring straight away rather than waiting to see what the weather does. Two numbers are listed, 0413 943 360 and 03 5342 9733, along with an email address, and the service area runs from Ballarat out across the surrounding districts.