Tree jobs you can do yourself in Morley
You can
- Prune branches under 3cm across with hand tools, standing on the ground. Bayswater rules out ladders and climbing gear.
- Water it in summer, and email the City if it looks unwell.
- Photograph any damage to a fence, pipe or driveway you think it caused; the City wants clear, documented evidence.
Leave to an arborist
- Big limbs, canopy reduction, and anything near powerlines or other services: City arborists only.
- Young trees still in their 3-year maintenance period: leave them alone.
- Hiring your own contractor for a City tree: Bayswater doesn't allow it.
Tree pruning and lopping in Morley
Usually it's the power lines. Western Power can prune City trees without telling the City first, to keep emergency clearances, and that can leave a tree heavily cut. If debris was left behind, email the City; it collects and inspects, and may do restorative pruning to help the tree recover.
The City's own powerline program reaches every road-reserve tree once a year, in seven zones. A tree touching wires may still wait for its turn, so if one is actually on a line, report it to Western Power rather than waiting.
Tree lopping in Morley: what's local
On the register
Bayswater keeps significant tree registers for both public and private land, 24 trees in all. Morley's include a tuart at the western corner of Nora Hughes Park and a prickly bark on Vera Street, both older than the suburb around them.
A kauri with three leaders
A Queensland kauri pine on Bourne Street is listed too: over 40 years old, 22 metres tall, with three leaders where the species usually grows one.
Bush to the north
Lightning Swamp Bushland in Noranda, also in the City of Bayswater, holds 71.3 hectares of marri, wandoo and flooded gum forest and banksia woodland. Dieback is its major threat, so knock the soil off boots and tools after a walk.
A 1960s suburb
Shops came to Morley from the late 1950s and houses through the 1960s, with Tonkin Highway cutting through in 1984.
Tree removal permits in Morley
Bayswater's tree FAQs tell owners to check for heritage or environmental protections, and any condition left by an earlier development approval, before a private tree comes out. If you're unsure, ask the City's Planning department. WA's native vegetation rules can apply as well; our WA permits page explains them.
If the plan was to lop it, ask about pruning instead. Lopping leaves stubs that sprout weak regrowth, which is why the pruning standard, AS 4373-2007, lists it as unacceptable. Our lopping vs pruning guide shows the difference.
Trees and power lines in Morley
Treat any fallen or sagging line as live and keep at least 8 metres away. Report it to Western Power, or call 000 first if anyone's hurt. For an urgent tree hazard on a City verge, call Bayswater's Community Safety Team.
Hiring an arborist in Morley
For a verge tree, we'd trim only what's thin enough and low enough to reach from the ground, and email the City about the rest. For a backyard tree, we'd ask the Planning department in writing before booking a removal, and get the arborist to price a good prune as well, so there's a lighter option to compare.