Tree Planting

Yes, it is anticipated that the Living Streets program will provide replacement trees required as a result of tree removal and road maintenance works. However in some circumstances we may not be able to achieve the required clearances to plant a replacement tree. The most effective and efficient way to manage the replacement process is to focus planting on a whole of street basis. This means there may be a delay before a removed tree is replaced.

There is no direct cost to residents for the street tree planting program, as annual funding is allocated in the Management Plan to the Major Asset Preservation Program for street tree planting. There are costs to residents for planting where public trees are removed as part of driveway or development application.

To determine appropriate species for your street we collect a range of site specific information such as road width, footway width, building set-back, utilities, micro-climate, soil type and aspect. This means the selected species will fit (at maturity) within the available space and is suited to local soil and climate conditions. It also means selecting a tree species that is compatible with surrounding hard infrastructure, building locations and design. For example, a small, low growing tree will not be selected if the site can support a medium sized tree, and a large or medium sized tree will not be selected for a site with restricted space or other limitations.

Once the site specific information has been filtered through the tree species matrix, a short-list of species with suitable characteristics is generated. Residents will then be consulted on progressing to the final selection of preferred species. Trees are ordered under contract eighteen months prior to planting to ensure availability and quality.

You will be notified by a letter box drop one to two weeks prior to planting. There are a number of vital steps that must be carried out to ensure the best conditions for tree growth and fast tree establishment. These steps include marking out of underground services, excavations and ground preparation. Trees are not usually planted on the same day as excavation and ground preparation - this work is usually undertaken several weeks in advance and the tree pit filled backfilled with soil, ready for tree planting which is usually undertaken in batches to maximise work efficiencies.  

Our tree planting team will maintain all newly planted street trees until they are properly established (a minimum of at least two years). Maintenance of newly planted street trees includes watering, mulching, fertilising, weeding and formative pruning.  After this time our tree maintenance team will take over maintenance of the tree.

You are welcome to give additional water to the new tree and to remove weeds and trim grass around mulch edges, taking care not to damage the trunk. However pruning, fertilising and pest control is our responsibility.   Please do not attempt to prune a public tree yourself.  If you feel a public tree requires pruning or other maintenance, please contact us on 02 4974 2000 to request a tree inspection by one of our qualified arborists.

Once established, the new street tree should not normally need additional watering, but trees less than five years old will benefit from periodic deep watering in dry times.

No - we are responsible for the maintenance of all public trees. Residents are not permitted to prune public trees themselves (which includes hiring a contractor to do so on your behalf). The Local Government Act makes it an offence to interfere with a plant or tree in a public place, so all pruning must be left to us.  

The pruning we undertake is to ensure a well structured canopy, to minimise future maintenance costs and to minimise future risk.  Pruning is undertaken by our qualified arborists and is in accordance with Australian Standard 4373 (Pruning of Amenity Trees).

If you feel a public tree requires pruning or other maintenance, please contact us by calling 02 4974 2000 to request a tree inspection. 

We use mulch that is treated to a specific Australian Standard. To ensure we maintain this level of quality we ask that you do not top-up mulch around street trees. 

Mulch is organic material that covers soil to reduce water loss, reduce weeds and improve soil conditions. Properly applied, mulch can provide benefits to our street trees. However, if it is any deeper than 100mm or if the wrong material is used, it can cause substantial harm to trees. Lawn clippings are not suitable as they introduce weeds and form a dense mat that blocks the movement of oxygen, carbon dioxide and moisture through the soil.

We do not grant approval for residents to plant trees themselves on public land. Electricity, telecommunications, gas, water and sewer pipes are usually all located within and under the footpath and nature strip area and these services are often not as deep as people imagine. We have an obligation to plant trees that are certified to meet a national standard for street trees and they must be planted at set distances from various infrastructure.

We are responsible for public trees no matter who plants them. We are also responsible for ensuring that the right species are planted in the right place. If a person plants a tree on public land we reserve the right to remove the tree.   We may attempt to place the removed tree in a pot which will then be returned to the resident, however where potting is impractical, the tree will simply be removed and disposed of without compensation to the resident. 

Whole of street planting
If your street is not identified in our current tree planting program you could have discussions with your neighbours and others in your street to canvas their views on street enhancement using tree planting. If enough people are interested then you can gather signatures and complete a Community Street Tree Planting Request form and lodge it with us for consideration as a whole of street planting. A whole of street planting day gives residents the opportunity to actively participate in planting trees. We conduct a maximum of three whole street plantings per year.

Single street tree planting
If your street already has street trees and only your property is lacking a tree, or if there is not enough interest from your neighbours to have a whole of street planting, please complete a Customer Request Form. Your request will be forwarded to our City Greening team and you will be contacted.

Yes, residents can apply for approval to plant a garden in the public verge in front of their residence, with some restrictions on location and garden type. Guidelines have been created to inform how to implement your street garden successfully with detailed information regarding the different garden types and their construction requirements. Further information including the Street Garden Guidelines can be found here: Street Gardens - City of Newcastle (nsw.gov.au)

We are continuing to plant large tree species for future generations in parks or similar open areas, minimising damage to infrastructure and the tree. This approach extends the useful life of the tree and reduces our maintenance costs.

We are planting more public trees than we remove. For example 274 figs were planted between 2002 and 2012 which equates to three figs planted for each fig removed in this period.