[COM] Victoria Square Upgrade - $24m

[Matt]

Yep, have been keeping an eye on that throughout the redevelopment, good spot for a cam!

I think the launch was meant to be tonight, so assume the big switch on is imminent.


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[monotonehell]

Yep, have been keeping an eye on that throughout the redevelopment, good spot for a cam!

I think the launch was meant to be tonight, so assume the big switch on is imminent.


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...and its on.

[Matt]

A couple of clips on Instagram with "Merry Christmas Adelaide" scrolling around the tree. Clever.


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[pushbutton]

V. nice!

[stronic]

here are some images of mature specimens of the trees selected for the new plaza...
"ugly, unkept and grey" certainly do not spring to mind. not every street tree in Adelaide has to be a London plane tree.

Those are surprisingly green, majority of Gum Trees have a very off colour. But they still don't look that attractive, they have a very tiny leaf density which makes them look less "full" than other trees and provide less shade. There are other trees to be planted, other than London Planes and Gums. The Gingko is an exceptional alternative because it withstands tough urban conditions and provides a lot of colour/shade, as do Littleleaf lindens, Locust trees, willow oak and Jacarandas.

Gum trees by nature are pretty destructive. Even the ones that look nice and stable drop a lot of branches in trying weather.

Oh well. Time to move on.

[Nathan]

Would've been happy with Jacarandas. They look brilliant in full bloom. (It was one of the nice bonuses when I lived on Halifax St).

[monotonehell]

Those are surprisingly green, majority of Gum Trees have a very off colour...

You know why? Because they are being watered and maintained. The reason all species of tree look poor or drop limbs is due to poor maintenance. There was a comprehensive study conducted a few years ago (can't find a reference sorry) into sudden limb dropping. It found that all species of trees drop limbs at about the same rate, due to poor maintenance.

But they still don't look that attractive, they have a very tiny leaf density which makes them look less "full" than other trees and provide less shade.

Go read some papers from the timber industry. They are very concerned with leaf density, as the greater the density of a canopy the more productive the tree. Again, no particular species is more or less dense because of, once again, maintenance.

There are other trees to be planted, other than London Planes and Gums. The Gingko is an exceptional alternative because it withstands tough urban conditions and provides a lot of colour/shade, as do Littleleaf lindens, Locust trees, willow oak and Jacarandas.

Ginkgos are nice. Jacarandas are so pretty for about a month, but make a mess when they drop leaves and flowers. They're so ubiquitous in Adelaide that i used to think them native until I found that they are from South America.

Gum trees by nature are pretty destructive. Even the ones that look nice and stable drop a lot of branches in trying weather.

Come on guys. Read the studies - all trees do this when stressed. Don't just listen to what everyone thinks they "know".

[claybro]

Would've been happy with Jacarandas. They look brilliant in full bloom. (It was one of the nice bonuses when I lived on Halifax St).

Jacarandas are beutilful, but very slow growing. Just a couple of points to whoever put up the picture of the avenue of the gums in Kings Park as an example of how they will look in Vic Square.
Perth has a MUCH higher rainfalll per annum than Adelaide. These gums are native to higher rainfall regions of Australia.
Perth has much higher quality and more plentiful groundwater, in fact is still used as a source for drinking water. The long tap roots of these trees can reach the groundwater.
Kings Park is a very large and open park surrounded by native bushland with a cooling humid seabreeze that blasts up the Swan river most afternoons,and ideal for these large gums.
The copious amounts of leaf litter, bark shedding and gumnuts are not an issue on the lawns of kings Park, but I really wonder about the mentality of planting a tree that sheds small gumnuts near roadways.

Now compare the environment of Vic SQ.
It is a heat sink (very hot and dry due to surrounding building)s and these gums are more suited to humid conditions.
These gums are about as native to South Australia as the London Plane, so for those seeing it as some form of respect to the Originial custodians are mis-guided.
It is a conjested paved area, and the trees in Vic SQ will not reach anywhere near the health of the Kings Park avenue, so anyone hoping they wlll reach the stately appearance of the Kings Park specimens will be dissappointed.

This aside, the developement looks great now the arbours are going up, and I can live with the gums, provided they are used sparingly.

[stronic]

Frankly I don't care about the native significance of gums and there respective placement in the Square, we have plenty of other locations full of gums (and they look terrible, the parklands for example spring to mind). It's a shame people lap them up so much simply because they are native because they are such an ugly tree and I really wouldn't care if they were no longer planted.

I also have such a hard time accepting that all trees cause damage, regardless of the 'studies', because from my personal experience (and believe me I've had plenty) Gums do require more work than your average deciduous/exotic tree. Another big positive with deciduous trees is the beautiful colour they bring in Autumn, obviously we don't get that with our native evergreens.

If lack of maintenance is the reason they aren't green, I say: why bother? There are plenty of other trees that require little maintenance but manage to remain very green. I like my trees green and tidy, gums fail to meet both criteria. They are a terrible garden tree too, the mess they have caused in some of the gardens I've had is awful!

But in favour of recognising the native significance of the square, are there any other suitable trees OTHER than Gums that are native to this country?

[ml69]

Frankly I don't care about the native significance of gums and there respective placement in the Square, we have plenty of other locations full of gums (and they look terrible, the parklands for example spring to mind). It's a shame people lap them up so much simply because they are native because they are such an ugly tree and I really wouldn't care if they were no longer planted.

I also have such a hard time accepting that all trees cause damage, regardless of the 'studies', because from my personal experience (and believe me I've had plenty) Gums do require more work than your average deciduous/exotic tree. Another big positive with deciduous trees is the beautiful colour they bring in Autumn, obviously we don't get that with our native evergreens.

If lack of maintenance is the reason they aren't green, I say: why bother? There are plenty of other trees that require little maintenance but manage to remain very green. I like my trees green and tidy, gums fail to meet both criteria. They are a terrible garden tree too, the mess they have caused in some of the gardens I've had is awful!

But in favour of recognising the native significance of the square, are there any other suitable trees OTHER than Gums that are native to this country?

Don't mean to be rude Stronic .... but they've already started planting gum trees in the square and no amount of blustering is going to change that.

As you mentioned earlier ... time to move on.

[monotonehell]

Several of us will be thrilled to hear that this morning workers are planting palm trees around the perimeter of Vic Sq.

At least that's what they looked like as I wizzed past on the tram.

[bm7500]

I think they are Cycads actually. Low growing palm like plants. The same type used in the North Terrace gardens.

[monotonehell]

I think they are Cycads actually. Low growing palm like plants. The same type used in the North Terrace gardens.

Could be many things now that I think about it. I only caught a glimpse. So not palm trees, just palm shrubs?

Actually I was hoping for yakka (Xanthorrhoea) being native to the Adelaide Hills but from memory they are a lot thinner.

I walked down to the xmas tree last night, the LED light display is outstanding. Shame the tree looks so undecorated during the day. Maybe more is to come?

[rev]

I walked down to the xmas tree last night, the LED light display is outstanding. Shame the tree looks so undecorated during the day. Maybe more is to come?

It's always been that way in recent times hasn't it?

[monotonehell]

I walked down to the xmas tree last night, the LED light display is outstanding. Shame the tree looks so undecorated during the day. Maybe more is to come?

It's always been that way in recent times hasn't it?

Up until this year it's always been decorated with physical ornaments and some lights. The current setup is like a tree shaped television. Go have a look after dark.