Planting a tree that is still there in 30 years

Most trees die from the decision, not the drought

The majority of failed plantings around Townsville were doomed before the tree went in. Wrong species for the soil, planted three metres from a slab, or a root system that was already circling in the bag and never had a chance of anchoring.

We plant with a view of where that tree is in 20 years: how wide the crown gets, how far the roots run, what is above it, and what it does to your neighbour's guttering. Getting that right at planting is the cheapest tree work you will ever pay for.

What we do

• Species selection for the site, the soil and the space available
• Advice on setback from slabs, pipes, pools, fences and overhead lines
• Soil assessment and preparation, including drainage on the heavy stuff
• Correct planting depth, root inspection and root correction before it goes in
• Staking and guying where the site is exposed, removed once it is anchored
• Screening, shade and street plantings for homes, body corporates and commercial sites
• Replacement planting after a removal, in a better spot

What actually grows here

North Queensland is not a gentle climate. A tree has to sit in saturated soil for weeks through the wet, then hold on through months of dry, and it needs to be structurally sound enough that a cyclone does not turn it into a problem. That rules a lot of pretty nursery stock straight out.

We will talk you through natives and proven performers that handle it, and we will be honest about the ones that look great for five years and then start dropping limbs. Shade is the usual goal. We can get you there without planting something that eventually has to come out.

After it goes in

The first two wet seasons decide whether a tree makes it. We leave you with a watering schedule, mulching instructions and formative pruning advice, and we can come back and do the early structural pruning that sets the shape for the rest of its life.