Parks, Playgrounds & Trees
Tree Planting and Selection
Background - Planting and Selection
Street Tree Planting Guide
Download the full guide - Street Tree Planting Guide 2010 - 2015
Appendix 1 - Street Tree Assessment Data ( by suburb and street )
Appendix 2 - Tree Species List - City of Port Phillip
Contact Council to order a printed copy of the street tree planting guide
Street Tree Planting Guide - By Suburb
Elwood and Ripponlea
Resident Request Process
Q: Can I apply to have a tree planted out the front of my house in the nature strip?
A: Yes. To initiate this process contact ASSIST on (03) 9209 6777, email assist@portphillip.vic.gov.au or lodge an online request and file a tree planting request. Once the request is made a council arborist will inspect the site to determine if planting is appropriate.
If the street meets planting requirements, a tree species and location will be selected. Trees will be listed for planting and scheduled in the current planting season. You will be notified of the outcome of this process in a letter.
Tree planting is undertaken during the months of April to October by council contractors.
Q: How do I get new trees planted in my street?
A: Street tree planting guide ‘Greening Port Phillip’ 2010 – 2015 provides council with a five year plan and priorities for streetscape that council has committed to greening. If your street has been listed,
Parks and Open Space team will undertake an assessment of the streetscape, engage the community, develop a plan and select an appropriate tree species for the delivery of the project.
If your streetscape is not noted within the first five years it will be assessed for future planting in the 2014 streetscape assessment. Check the Tree Planting Guide by Suburb listed above
More information
Street Tree Planting - Process chart for resident requests
Community Consultation - Process chart for in-fill and street tree upgrades
Background - Planting and Selection
Summary of tree planting activities 2004 – 2009
Over the previous five year period 2004 - 2009, a total of 3,862 trees were removed and 4,477 trees were planted by the City of Port Phillip through three major planting programs: Greening Port Phillip; In Fill Planting; and Capital Works Projects. The net increase in trees from these programs since 2004 was 615.
The Greening Port Phillip program was a council initiative designed to enhance the city’s public and private places and spaces over a five year period by ‘Greening the City’. The program was based on beautifying and softening streetscapes throughout the municipality and was driven by community interest for the upgrade of streetscapes.
In addition to the Greening Port Phillip Program there were a number of separate capital work projects that contributed to improving streetscapes by tree planting.
In-fill tree planting was undertaken as part of the tree management contract between the City of Port Phillip and contractors who undertake tree management activities on behalf of council.
The in-fill tree planting list was developed annually for street and park trees based on the following criteria:
• Residential request – if street has consistent species of street trees and is either missing a number of trees or trees are in poor health and need of replacement.
• Replacement trees for trees that have been removed – street and park tree removals are presented to the Tree Removal Assessment Panel and a recommended tree species for planting is noted.
• Internal request – areas include Parks and Open space, Economic Development, Traffic, Parking and Transport, and childcare/community centres.
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View the full size map highlighting the streets where trees were planted through the 'Greening Port Phillip' and capital works program 2004 - 2009 |
St Kilda / Brighton Road Tree Enhancement Program 2009 / 10
Development of the Street Tree Planting Guide 2010 - 2015
A review of the tree planting activities for the period of 2004 - 2009 highlighted the need for a transition from annual planning for tree planting to a strategic and consistent long term planning approach.
It was found that a long term strategic approach to tree planting would better enable council to maintain the current high quality tree cover and general health across the municipality into the future by ensuring:
- Mature trees that are reaching the end of their useful life span are strategically replaced to maintain a good spread of mature trees across the municipality at any one time.
- An equitable balance is achieved between undertaking in-fill (tree replacement) activities to replace dead or missing trees on streets with trees and streetscape upgrades where there are none or very few trees. Future tree planting adequately addresses biodiversity, climate change adaptation, social and cultural council objectives.
- A transparent approach to tree planting and replacement that informs the community of the timing of tree planting activities within their streets and logic of the decision making process.
- A responsive service for residential requests for replacement of trees.
The Current Urban Forest Situation
A streetscape assessment was undertaken during 2009. The information collected on the street trees is used for the descriptions below. The assessment considered a number of factors regarding the condition and suitability of street trees as well as details regarding the growing conditions. The assessment did not extend to trees in parks.
This will be work undertaken in the future. The streetscape assessment data informs the development of the strategies and actions listed in the Greening Port Phillip Strategy and will provide a base line for future measurement of progress towards achievement of the Greening Port Phillip objectives such as reducing the heat island effect and maintaining an optimum coverage and mix of tree types and age.
The information has also informed the development of the five year Street Tree Planting Guide. 26,372 trees were identified in the streetscape assessment, comprising of approximately 175 different tree species and varieties
Tree diversity
- 10 species were found to be the most common, representing approximately one third of all street trees. London Plane trees and Queensland Brush Box are the two most common street trees.
- Plane trees (Platanus spp.) are the most common (16% of all trees and 41% of the 10 most common tree species) and are particularly tolerant of urban conditions, which have seen it as one of the most commonly planted street trees in the world. The Queensland Brush Box also displays good urban tolerances and is the most commonly planted street tree in Melbourne.
Tree age and useful life expectancy
- Over half of the streets and street sections in the City of Port Phillip contain trees that are still actively growing and are yet to achieve their expected size. This is reflective of most of Melbourne’s tree population.
- This is reinforced by the expected useful life of the trees (Refer to section titled Tree Management - Key Challenges, for an explanation of useful life expectancy). 59% of streets and street sections within the city contain trees that have a useful life expectancy of 20-50 years and 21% have a useful life expectancy of 50-100 years.
- 20% of streets and street sections have trees that have generally reached their expected size in the landscape and are not growing as vigorously as younger trees, but are still expected to remain healthy for many years (0-20yrs ULE). Many of these streets contain exotic varieties such as Plane, which can live for more than 150 years.
- Only four streets or 0.5% of all streets contain trees that are over-mature and entering a decline phase.
Tree amenity
- The 2009 Port Phillip street tree assessment placed a tree amenity value onto each street and street section. Tree amenity considers the visually desirable features that trees provide to the street and is a combination of attributes of tree condition and suitability to the site.
- 40% of treed streets were rated fair for tree amenity and 15% were rated as good or very good. These are generally streets that have full stocking of healthy, vigorous trees suited to the site, with low impact on adjacent infrastructure and long ULE. 10% of streets were found to have poor to very poor tree amenity value.
- A number of streets and street sections assessed contained no trees. Most of these streets are too narrow to allow for conventional tree planting.
- Streets that can accommodate trees were given a tree amenity value. Streets too narrow for tree planting were classed as Vacant for tree amenity (17%). Other greening options need to be investigated for these streets.
Planting opportunities
- The street tree assessment identified 3,069 vacant sites across the municipality. Vacant sites are defined as sites that are existing viable tree sites that could be planted without, in most cases, significant infrastructure improvements.
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The assessment also noted the optimum number of planting sites for each street. A street tree in front of every property or one every 15m is a typical street tree carrying capacity used by many municipalities. This is considered the optimum number of sites for the purpose of regional planning. Site assessment prior to tree planting would be undertaken to identify the appropriate planting capacity for a particular street.
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There are 25,672 optimum tree planting sites across the municipality. When compared with the total number of street trees, (26,372), the optimum tree number indicates that some streets within the city have dense plantings or multiple trees per property.
Street tree assessment method
A street tree assessment was undertaken during 2009 by TreeLogic. The assessment considered a number of factors regarding the condition and suitability of street trees as well as details regarding the road and growing conditions Table 1 The assessment did not extend to trees in parks.
The 2009 Port Phillip Street Tree Assessment identified 810 streets and street sections within the city. One street may have been broken up into sections based on distinct changes in one or a number of site characteristics, such as land use, road hierarchy, size or type of planting site and distinct changes in species composition.
The street tree assessment identified 26,372 street trees within the City of Port Phillip, comprising of approximately 175 different tree species and varieties.
Table 1 - Street tree assesment data feilds
Development of the five year tree planting work priorities
Following the street tree assessment the information was analysed and used to develop the five year tree planting plan.
In addition to considering the overall score that was assigned to each street based on the data collected, the consultants developed the plan to ensure that:
- Mature trees that are reaching the end of their useful lifespan are strategically replaced to maintain a good spread of mature trees across the municipality at any one time.
- An equitable balance is achieved between undertaking in-fill (tree replacement) activities to replace dead or missing trees on streets with trees and street tree upgrades where there are none, or very few, trees.
- Future tree planting adequately addresses biodiversity, climate change adaptation, social and
cultural council objectives .
Street tree planting work priorities 2010 - 2015
The 2009 Port Phillip street tree assessment developed work priorities for street tree planting. The priority was based on a number of factors including number of vacant sites, existing trees (age, condition and/or suitability), street tree amenity and site conditions.
Street tree planting works involves three different programs within a street or street section.
- These are: In-fill planting, which primarily addresses planting out with same or similar species.
- Partial renewal, which may involve the removal of some declining or inappropriate trees and in-fill planting to reinforce a preferred tree species. This program may also involve the construction of new or improved planting sites, such as in-road planters or expanded sites in hard surfaces.
- Renewal, which involves the removal of most if not all, inappropriate or declining street trees and replacing with appropriate species. This program could also incorporate the creation of new or improved planting sites.
Existing vacant sites (in-fill planting) offers the simplest method for increasing the number of trees within the city. Vacant sites are viable sites that could be planted without, in most cases, significant infrastructure improvements. The street tree assessment identified a total of 3,069 vacant sites.
The street tree assessment also noted optimum sites. A street tree in front of every property or one every 15m is a typical street tree carrying capacity used by many municipalities. This was considered the optimum number of sites for the purposes of this assessment. Each street prior to planting would be reassessed for its optimum number of sites based on particular street characteristics and tree type.
The assessment identified 25,672 optimum sites for street trees in the City of Port Phillip. When compared with the total number of street trees, 26,372, the optimum tree number indicates that some streets within the city currently have more than the optimum amount of trees, with dense plantings or multiple trees per property.
Over stocking can lead to competition between trees for water, light and space, increasing the chances of poor tree health and infrastructure damage. Figure 8 shows the total trees, optimum sites and vacant sites by suburb.
Figure 8 - Total trees, optimum sites and vacant sites by suburb
Street tree selection
There is no one perfect urban tree. It is also important to understand that there is no one urban environment.
The urban environment is a varied conglomeration of micro climates and heterogeneous soil conditions. Above ground or below ground site conditions can change dramatically within the space of a few metres. Consequently, a site analysis of each major planting site will allow more appropriate tree selections. Climate change and increases in temperatures will also require consideration when selecting tree species.
The most successful strategy is to match the planting site limitations with the right tree for that site. Street tree selection for the City of Port Phillip will take into account relative plant tolerances and adaptability, and integration into surrounding planting themes.
above - Chinese Elms, Bay Street, Port Melbourne
The basic issues regarding tree selection can be summarised as follows:
- Biological requirements relate to a tree’s ability to tolerate urban conditions. The species selected should have high tolerance levels that will allow establishment and sustained growth while producing desired benefits with low management inputs. It also relates to available root space to sustain the potential tree size.
- Ecological issues include tree diversity, maintaining and enhancing existing significant areas of native and remnant indigenous vegetation. Selecting plants that do not have the potential to become woody weeds and impact on natural systems.
- Tree longevity is considered as the longer a tree is allowed to grow in a site the greater the benefits to the landscape and return on initial investment the trees will have.
- Using tree species known for their structural integrity and stock that are known to have received appropriate formative treatment whilst in the production nursery.
- Functional and spatial issues include the trees ability to be pruned so as to provide required clearances. It also relates to the trees root system and its limited impact on adjacent infrastructure.
It considers the above ground and below ground restrictions and maintenance requirements. Using tree species that are known to have low litter drop, such as leaves, flowers, fruit and bark.
- Availability is an important consideration. The selected trees will need to be commercially available to provide the desired numbers and size for planting programs.
- Aesthetic issues consider the ability for trees to enhance the visual amenity of a streetscape or area, without negative impact to surrounding infrastructure.
Historical / iconic boulevards
City of Port Phillip recognises the historical and iconic importance of some major roads and boulevards.
Key boulevards include:
- St Kilda Road, St Kilda/Melbourne
- Brighton Road, Elwood, St Kilda
- Ormond Esplanade, Elwood
- Marine Parade, Elwood
- Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda/St Kilda West
- Beaconsfield Parade, St Kilda West/Middle Park/Albert Park/Port Melbourne
- Beach Street, Port Melbourne
- Kerferd Road, Albert Park
- Queens Road, Melbourne
- The Esplanade, St Kilda
- Bay Street, Port Melbourne
- Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
To maintain and enhance trees in key boulevards is an action in the council Plan and is one of the key objectives of the Greening Port Phillip Strategy.
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