Urgent Removal Of Two Hyde Park Trees

Media Release
CITY OF SYDNEY
4 November 2009


Urgent removal of two Hyde Park trees

Two dead and dying trees will soon be removed from Hyde Park North, to ensure
public safety.

One of the trees is a dead Holm Oak (Quercus Ilex) which has been declining in health for several months. A soil sample sent to the Plant Disease Diagnostic Unit at the Royal Botanic Gardens, tested positive for two tree diseases Phytophthora cinnamomi and Pythium. Phytophthora causes root-rot and eventual death to a wide variety of native and exotic plants. It is one of three diseases also affecting the large Hills Fig trees in Hyde Park.

The second tree is a semi-mature Sydney Blue Gum (Eucalyptus saligna) located at the northern boundary of Hyde Park North on the western side of the Central Avenue. The Sydney Blue Gum is planted in a garden bed and has a restricted root volume; the tree has been slowly declining and dropping small dead branches for the past 12 months.

A study in 2006 found these two trees were among as many as 230 trees of the 600
trees in Hyde Park that are diseased and dying and must be removed over the next 15 years.

The trees will be replaced with new, healthy, mature replacement trees as part of a $37 million plan to upgrade Hyde Park and gradually replace diseased and dying trees and soil throughout the park.

Non-infectious parts of the two trees will be mulched for use in other inner city parks, with all infected material taken to landfill to ensure the diseases are not spread.

Media Contact:
Leanne Lincoln
(02) 9265 9910 or
[email protected]

High res images of the two trees to be removed are available for media purposes

SOURCE: City of Sydney