Built over farmland, and it shows
Baldivis went from market gardens and small holdings to one of Western Australia's fastest-growing residential areas in about twenty years. The tree work here is shaped by that history in two directions at once: the old rural planting that survived subdivision, and the new estate planting that came after it.
The old stuff
Pine windbreaks. Rows planted along old paddock boundaries, now running through the middle of new subdivisions and frequently sitting on or across a modern lot line. They are old, they shed limbs, and they are one of the more common removal jobs in the suburb. Pines also cannot be reduced — a conifer will not reshoot from bare wood — so shortening one is not an option.
Market-garden remnants. Olives, figs, citrus and grapevines left from the growing era, often on the larger lots that have not yet been subdivided.
Remnant tuart and banksia. In the reserves and on bushland-adjoining lots. Banksia in particular is shallow rooted and intolerant of soil disturbance, and a great many are lost to compaction during building rather than to a chainsaw.
The new stuff
Estate plantings of the last fifteen years: young street trees, garden specimens and screening plants on small lots with shallow topsoil over builder's fill.
The problems are predictable. Trees planted a metre from a fence or a driveway with nowhere to put roots. Stakes and ties left on long after the tree needed them, so the trunk never develops taper and the tree leans the moment the stake is pulled. And full exposure to the sea breeze, which arrives here off the coast with very little in the way to slow it.
Most of this work is formative pruning and clearance — small, quick jobs that prevent large, expensive ones in fifteen years.
Ground and access
Bassendean and Spearwood sand — easy digging, fast stump grinding, and full extraction entirely practical where a pool or a slab is going in.
Access on the new lots is the constraint, not the soil. A single 900mm side gate and no rear access means a narrow grinder and more time. The strong advice on any block where landscaping, fencing or a pool is still to come is to do the tree and stump work first, while a machine can still get to the back.
Wind
Exposed. The sea breeze comes across from the coast with little between it and here, and the summer easterlies come the other way. New estates have no established canopy to break either, which is why young trees in exposed corners lean and why staking gets left on too long.
Nearby
Rockingham to the west, Secret Harbour south along the coast, Kwinana north and Mandurah further down. Full list on the service areas page, pricing in the cost guide.
Call (08) 9516 2804.
Frequently asked questions
Which council covers Baldivis?
The City of Rockingham. Western Australia has no statewide tree preservation order, so the City sets the rules for private trees and they are relatively light. What does catch people here are vegetation and retention conditions attached to newer subdivision approvals, which can require specific trees to be kept on a lot.
What are the old pines and windbreaks?
Remnants of the market-garden and small-holding era before the estates arrived. Pine rows planted as windbreaks along old boundaries now sit awkwardly through new subdivisions, often on or across new lot lines. They are usually well past their best, they shed limbs, and they are a common removal job here.
Why do trees on new estate blocks fail so often?
Small lots, shallow topsoil over builder's fill, limited root run and full exposure to the sea breeze. A tree planted in a corner with a driveway on one side and a fence on the other has nowhere to go. Staking that is left on too long is the other common cause, because the trunk never develops the taper it needs.
Can you get machinery onto a new estate block?
Usually, but the gates are the limit. Modern lots often have a single 900mm side gate and no rear access, which means a narrow-access stump grinder rather than a fast one. If landscaping or a pool is planned, get the tree and stump work done before the fencing and paving go in.