Recently-planted street trees in the town of Gawler, South Australia, have been given an excellent chance of healthy life, thanks partly to root and tree protection measures from Arborgreen Landscape Products .
Murray Street, the main thoroughfare of Gawler, has extremely compacted soils due to heavy traffic heading north from Adelaide to the nearby Barossa Valley, plus the legacy of old tram tracks from many years back.
The street is being upgraded in a multi-stage project for improving general amenities and pedestrian facilities along the full length of the thoroughfare.
“Street trees can find it difficult to grow successfully in the kinds of conditions we find in Murray Street. The Arborgreen system used in this project ensures that water and oxygen are delivered to the tree roots, minimising water wastage and giving the trees the best chance to thrive,” said Gary Kerr, Coordinator Open Space Major Projects, Town of Gawler.
Gawler Council positioned Arborgreen RootCells, loaded with loosely-compacted top soil, adjacent to the base of the root balls of the new trees to give them room to grow and to allow essential nutrients to reach the roots.
Layers of twinwall Geonet, clean bluemetal aggregate and compacted sub-base material that was unconducive to root growth were laid above the RootCells to prevent the tree roots growing upwards while allowing water to penetrate to the roots.
Arborgreen Root Directors were placed adjacent to the root balls to ensure that the tree roots grew into the RootCells and didn’t erupt into the road or footpath.
Tree Grilles set flush into the pavement allowed surface water and air to penetrate to the tree roots, while vertical Tree Guards protected the young trees from vandalism or accidents during the early growing stages.
“The trees have been dormant over winter, but are now ready to go,” Mr Kerr said. “The planting project has worked out well and the feedback from the citizens of Gawler has been positive.”
Arborgreen’s RootCells and associated products are attracting increasing attention in all states of Australia and throughout New Zealand. Many arborists and landscape architects are now recognising that these modular, structural soil cells represent current best practice for trees in cities.
