It’s street-tree planting time in Boroondara, and extra Council funds dedicated to planting over the next two years mean more new young trees are coming to a street and park near you.
To ensure leafy neighbourhoods now and in future, we have increased our planting capacity with a dedicated spend of $660,000 to support our park and street-tree planting program. To give new trees the best possible start, we water and maintain them for at least two years after planting. You too can help us care for the trees on your nature strip – both new and mature – to give them the best chance of a healthy life.
Top tips for street-tree care
Water it
We water new trees weekly over summer, however pouring an additional bucket of water around the tree once or twice a week during summer will help keep it healthy. To check whether your tree needs watering, feel the soil just below the layer of mulch – if the soil is dry, the tree should be watered.
Take care with mulch
A layer of mulch is spread around the base of all new trees when planted to help retain water and suppress weeds and grasses. Avoid placing mulch right against the trunk as this can cause the base of the tree to rot, and steer clear of using grass clippings for mulch as it can promote weed growth and its high nitrogen content can stress young trees.
Mind the bark
When mowing and using line trimmers, avoid contact with the trunk of the tree. Its bark helps protect the tree from pests and diseases, and damaging it can cause serious harm, especially to our younger trees.
Give it space
Avoid parking cars too close to a tree or storing heavy machinery or materials beneath the tree canopy to ensure the soil doesn’t compact and oxygen can reach the roots.
Keep us posted
Help us care for our street trees by letting us know if there are any issues with the health of a tree and reporting any acts of vandalism via our easy report an issue form.
More information
To learn more about our approach to tree renewal, visit our Tree renewal page or call (03) 9278 4444.
Three tree species coming to a nature strip near you
Lagerstroemia indica cultivars – crepe myrtle
A small tree for streets with limited space that still need a touch of green. We plant several cultivars with purple, pink and white flowers and attractive autumn colour.
Quercus palustris – pin oak
Providing stunning autumn colour and a large shady canopy, this is one of our most common replacement trees.
Celtis australis – hackberry
This deciduous tree with great autumn colour adds to the diversity of our urban forest.