touchingcloth

Hi all,

Driving through Epsom today, when I commented to the wife how leafy the area is in summer. She (from abroad) said it looks grim now though.

So could anyone tell me whether Melbourne loses its foliage in Autumn/Winter too?

Thanks
TC

BadgeIsBack

Green all year round. Some lose, but they might be non-native. My bloody neighbour's willows lose all the leaves in to my pool. I cut 2 of them down this spring. They are environmental pests.

tonyk38

Introduced deciduous trees (such as oaks, willows, European Beech, jacaranda): yes.

Introduced evergreens: no.

Introduced and native conifers: no.

Most native trees including gums, wattles, (apart from a few), banksias etc: no.

In other words, no different from Europe in so much as it depends on the species.

HiddenPaw

Yes, another introduced disaster!!! Willows are on the Australian 'Weeds of National Significance" list. I'm not too sure of current 'blanket' policy, but there is a lot of environmental control along watercourses/rivers - manual removal programmes are in abundance as the willows are blocking the waterways and taking over the natural habitat of native trees (such as the river reds). They are pretty invasive so removing new shoots is very wise!

OzTennis

There has been a catalogue of disasters following the introduction of non-native species to 'remind one of home' (e.g. willows, rabbits, foxes etc) and the introduction of one species to eliminate another which has gone on to be a bigger pest than the original problem (e.g. the cane toad)

http://www.theage.com.au/news/nation...890831455.html

OzTennis

HiddenPaw

Yes, the cane toads are a big worry - big worry for places like Kakadu as they fast approach Darwin and beyond.

I believe camels are also on the 'hit-list'?

A couple of years ago there was talk of removing horses from Fraser Island as they were destroying the vegetation. I wonder if they will ever remove those other non-native pests on Fraser Island that are damaging the environment and sand dunes...you know, the ones with 4 wheels that need a lot of feeding, and emit a load of toxic s**t.

There was also talk of removing the European trees that line the streets of Melbourne cbd as they are such a drain on water resources. Not sure where that one's up to now.

touchingcloth

So on the whole....does Melbourne look green in winter ?

CasG

Yes...

tonyk38

Sorry I don't get it...

It all depends which trees you're looking at, as I have explained. As you will be in Aus, then I would have thought that the fact that natives predominate was obvious.

NickyC

That's another of the lovely things about living in Australia.

You never get those horrible, stark, bare trees here making the landscape look cold and bleak. (Whenever I see a film or pictures of cold English winters with leafless trees, it sends shivers up my spine - horrible memories of walking home from school on bitterly cold, dark afternoons)

Whilst there may be a few European trees around that do lose their leaves, the majority of trees don't.

touchingcloth

perfect response...thanks...have some karma

CasG

so was mine...straight to the point

BadgeIsBack

Have to admit, I agree. You see grey, English winters on TV and you think, it's hardly Christmas with snow (all of a week of it if you are lucky) to at least make it worthwhile. When you are on a hot day you may reflect on when you might wear a pair of trousers and a jacket again (and you will in a matter of months) but being truly cold soons wears off.

OzTennis

I believe some (probably) misguided eco warriors in the UK have embarked on a campaign of letting down all the tyres on urban 4WD's!

OzTennis

tonyk38

It wouldn't be unfeasible to eradicate some of the large introduced species either, but this tends to raise objections from the hunting lobby in some cases (who obviously like to hunt them), and animal lovers who don't like the idea of people shooting horses, donkeys, camels and so on.

So I guess you can't please everyone even if the ecological benefits of eradicating some species are clear.