How to help street trees thrive
Those of us who love our street trees are often surprised by residents who refuse to have a street tree planted in front of their homes, and kill any tree planted.
We all know the feeling of walking from the hot sun into the cool shade of a tree.
As our summers get hotter, street trees play an increasingly important role in cooling our suburbs and reducing the effect of heatwaves on our health and lifestyle.
Councils are responsible for planting and maintaining street trees and are working hard to increase the number of trees in parks and on streets throughout our cities. Like verge gardeners, they do this in the face of all the competing users and uses of the space.
We can all help by caring for the new and existing street trees near our homes, ensuring that the trees survive and thrive. Here are some tips.
Plant a native verge garden, not grass, not food.
Even though some councils allow food growing on the verge, a native verge garden is more compatible with street trees and more likely to be accepted by your neighbours.
Local native plants are best for a low-maintenance garden. They are suited to our climate and soil, and tubestock from community nurseries are cheap. You can hand weed and plant a small tubestock without damaging the roots of existing trees.
Local native plants don’t need artificial fertilisers, herbicides, or pesticides that get washed into the stormwater system and creeks. The gardens provide a great environment for the council-planted trees to thrive, safe from being battered by mowing equipment.
Keep the base of the tree clear
The base of the tree trunk should be visible. Avoid thick mulch, soil and grass clippings building up against the tree trunk. This tree had light mulch when planted and now has a natural mulch of leaf litter held in place by the plants.
Don’t make volcanos
Putting grass clippings around trees is called volcano mulching. It generates a lot of heat and will damage and kill the tree. Another bonus of a verge garden is that you don’t have any grass clippings for disposal. You’ve designed out that problem.
Grass clippings and mulch knocked into the gutter will contaminate the stormwater that flows into your creeks.
Avoid compacting the soil – NO Parking!
Please don’t drive or park your car or other vehicles on the verge. The weight compacts the soil which means the tree roots can’t breathe and rainwater runs off instead of soaking in.
If it’s a place where people must walk, some mulch (not too thick) will reduce the impact.
Cars belong on the road. It is illegal to park on the verge - let’s keep it that way and encourage councils to enforce the rules. Fight against petitions (like this) that ask for parking to be allowed on the verge.
Encourage others to respect and appreciate Street Trees
Those of us who love our street trees are often surprised by residents who refuse to have a street tree planted in front of their homes, and kill any tree planted.
Attitudes are catching and people move in the directions of their conversations.
The more conversations people hear about the virtues of street trees and why we want and need them, the better. Talk about your street tree and the benefits it provides with pride.
Express your dismay at practices that damage them without sounding judgemental. Ask open and curious questions: Why might someone do that? What might make them appreciate trees more?
To bring change, we have to nurture conversations as well as gardens.
What sort of conversations do you have in your neighbourhood about street trees? Positive? Negative? Could we shift those conversations?
Thanks for the tips on how to look after our street trees. I have two and am about to put a ring of mulch around them both to help them thrive. Stage 2 will be some additional native plantings. Here's to increasing our street tree canopy!
Please note that in WA it is not illegal to park on the land called the Verge. If you have the permission of the owner of the adjacent property. Generally, cars are actively encouraged to park on the verge - because in WA , 'Cars rule'. If you dare to park on the (massively wide) road, you are taunted and harassed for 'slowing down the traffic flow'. !!