City of Onkaparinga declares war on Chinese elms

IT’S so easy to grow that there are thousands across Adelaide, but this tree has become too popular for its own good — and the local council wants to give it the chop.

Charlotte and William at Noarlunga Downs, where Chinese elm trees are dropping their leaves. Pic: Calum Robertson

IT’S a street tree so easy to grow that there are thousands across Adelaide, but the Chinese elm has become too popular for its own good in the city’s south — and a local council wants to give it the chop.

There are an estimated 10,000 elms in the City of Onkaparinga, and the council wants them declared pests, banned in new housing estates and illegal to sell. It would also mean existing trees could be removed.

The council has asked the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resource Management Board to officially declare the tree a pest.

The bid comes after Seaford Rise and Noarlunga Downs residents complained the trees’ roots were damaging their homes, driveways and footpaths.

A report to the council last week stated there were 10,000 Chinese elms, also known as lacebark elms, across the district with the hardy trees popular in new housing developments, where they make fast-growing shade trees.

But their aggressive growth can also make them a problem and they are considered a pest species in southeast Queensland.

Chinese elms are so widespread in Adelaide’s south the local council wants to ban them.

The Advertiser’s gardening expert Jon Lamb said the Chinese elm, a species native to eastern Asia, was a “very versatile tree” ideal for parks and open spaces.

“It’s one of the best deciduous trees we have in Adelaide ... (but) I wouldn’t use the Chinese elm as a street tree because it needs room to grow,” he said.

Onkaparinga mayor Lorraine Rosenberg hoped banning the trees would give residents some relief.

A Chinese elm tree seedling, one of many in the area. Picture Campbell Brodie.

Noarlunga Downs residents Robert and Margaret Hart and Dorothy and Les Boyd, with a Chinese elm. Picture: Campbell Brodie.

“The issue is we can’t tell developers they can’t plant that specific tree on a specific street or in park if it’s a legitimately sold plant in SA,” Ms Rosenberg said. “But if the Chinese elm was declared a pest species, then it can be managed.”

Noarlunga Downs resident Margaret Hart welcomed the prospect of a ban. “These trees are growing like mad. The seeds blow everywhere so I think we need to declare them a pest ... and protect our area and waterways,” she said.

An Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges NRM Board spokeswoman said the body would “consider the request”. and conduct a “weed risk assessment” of the elms.

“This assessment will consider the plant’s biology, dispersal, impacts, and damage to infrastructure, in addition to the feasibility of its containment, and the cost of control,” she said. “If it were to become a declared plant under the Natural Resources Management Act, (it) could be banned from sale.”

A report to council last week stated felling and replacing a single tree would cost $1460.