Caring for Trees in Yarra

Yarra City Council recognises the value of street trees to the community and has an ongoing commitment to managing and improving local streetscapes and their liveability.

As part of this commitment, Council maintains 16,000 street trees on a cyclic program to ensure their safety and health and also plants around 1,000 street trees per year, along with thousands of other plants for revegetation in local reserves and parklands.

Street trees are an important community asset that provides a multitude of benefits. They help create a more pleasant and tranquil environment; they provide habitat to wildlife; reduce glare and provide shade and shelter; they purify the air; and they also provide economic benefits by reducing the need for heating and cooling and by potentially increasing a property’s value.

From listening to community feedback, it is clear that the people of Yarra strongly support and appreciate Council’s efforts in planting and maintaining street trees.

Over the past few years, the drought has created many challenges for local trees and for Council’s Open Space Unit, who manage all of Yarra’s trees and parklands. While most trees are coping despite the drought, some have not been able to adapt to the extremely dry conditions. This has caused many trees into early leaf fall and unfortunately some have died. Those that die will be replaced where appropriate.

Council is working very hard to do all it can to look after the trees in these trying conditions. All of Yarra’s street trees are monitored regularly by Council’s arborist and committed qualified contractors as part of a municipal wide tree management program.  Outlined below are some of the initiatives Council has in place to look after the City’s trees.  

1. Council plants new trees in approximately 15 streets each year and also plants around 400 replacement trees.
2. Council manually waters every new street tree for at least the first two years of its life to ensure survival and future growth. Council purchases ‘Class A’ recycled water to establish new plantings in accordance with its Water Action Plan.
3. Between 2006 and 2009, Council has installed more than 40km of sub-surface irrigation for the City’s most significant park trees. Dripper systems are a very efficient method of irrigation that supplies water directly to the tree roots, where it is most required. As the irrigation system is below ground, it prevents water loss from run-off, evaporation and spray drift.
4. To protect mature trees in the drought, Council has placed mulch at the base of many park trees and, to date has spread approximately 5,000 cubic metres of mulch under trees to reduce water consumption.
5. Each year over 200 water-filled barriers are placed next to significant park trees to keep them alive. The barriers deliver water via a drip feed system aided by the use of soil de-compaction, wetting agents and mulching. These numbers are slowly being reduced as Council installs more below ground drip irrigation.

How You Can Help Care for Trees

What trees require water?
Trees that are over three years of age would benefit from additional water from residents and the local community during dry conditions.  These trees are recognisable because they do not have any timber stakes around them.

When do these trees require water?
These trees need water when they are suffering from wilting or browning leaves, or from significant leaf drop.

How much water do these trees require?
Under dry conditions, most trees that have been established longer than three years will benefit from watering by the community.   

However, it is important to recognise that in some cases leaves can turn brown due to too much water rather than not enough, especially as Yarra has heavy clay soils.

Residents should check the soil moisture before watering a tree.  If the soil is very moist, the tree probably doesn’t need any more water.  Also, check with your neighbours to ensure you’re not all watering the same tree.

Can I use grey water?
It should be relatively safe to water a tree over drier months using grey water from domestic use such as the bathroom, kitchen or laundry without any long term implications on the health of the tree or soil.

What trees do not require watering?
Do not water any trees with timber stakes around them.

Council requests that residents do not water street trees that are less than two years old that are still under our maintenance and care.  These are easily identifiable because they will have timber stakes around them. 

These trees have not developed mature root systems and are susceptible to drowning.  Additional watering of young trees still under maintenance makes it very hard for Council officers to calculate the water requirements of these trees to keep them healthy.

If you are concerned about the health of any tree in Yarra, or notice any vandalism or trees missing, please contact Council on 9205 5555 or email Council’s arborist, Michael Rogers at michael.rogers@yarracity.vic.gov.au.

Caring for Trees in Yarra

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Further information

Open Space Planning Unit
Fitzroy Town Hall
201 Napier street
Telephone 9205 5727
Email info@yarracity.vic.gov.au

Links

Within this site
Yarra City Council

External sites (Yarra City Council accepts no responsibility for the information or opinions contained within external sites)
Yarra City Council

Information supplied by: Electronic communications & design officer - 9205 5214

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