Two very different streetscapes
Mooloolaba splits into the beachfront side around the Esplanade and Brisbane Road, and the canal estates running back through Minyama and Parrearra. They present different problems.
On the beachfront, the constraint is exposure. Salt-laden onshore wind burns foliage, kills leaders on the seaward side and leaves trees permanently lopsided. Norfolk Island pines and pandanus cope with it. Most ornamental plantings do not, and they end up half-dead on the windward side within a few years.
On the canals, the constraint is space. Lots are deep and narrow with a house across most of the width, a pool in the remainder and a pontoon at the back. There is no drop zone at all.
Palms, everywhere
Mooloolaba is palm country by planting fashion as much as by nature. Foxtail and Alexandra palms in the newer landscaping, cocos palms surviving from earlier decades, and the occasional Bangalow in a sheltered courtyard.
Cocos palms are the recurring job. They seed prolifically, the fruit drops onto pool surrounds and pontoons, and the dead frond skirt becomes a rat and wasp habitat. Seed heads get bagged before cutting so the fruit does not end up in the canal.
Green fronds are left on. A palm has no secondary thickening and cannot regrow a trunk, so stripping it back to a pencil-top starves it and the whole thing declines.
Access and logistics
Street parking around Mooloolaba is contested and, in summer, close to impossible. Work here gets scheduled early in the day, and where a chipper cannot be parked near the house the material is barrowed further than anyone would like.
Where a crane can set up on the street the job takes half the time. On most canal lots it cannot, and the work is a climbing job with a full rigging setup.
Common jobs
Crown reduction on wind-shaped trees to rebalance weight. Removal of dying ornamentals on exposed frontages. Cocos palm removal and seed head management. Stump grinding in pool surrounds, which needs care because the machine is working next to expensive tiling.
Ring (07) 5408 6029. See also Kawana, Maroochydore and the full service area list.
Frequently asked questions
How do you work on a canal block with no room?
Everything is roped and lowered. On a canal frontage the water is behind the tree and the house is in front of it, so nothing gets dropped freely - each section is tied off, cut, and lowered to a landing spot, usually a small pad of lawn or the driveway. It is slow, and that is reflected in the quote.
Can debris be taken out by water?
Occasionally, on the tightest Minyama and Mooloolaba canal lots, a barge is the practical option. It is not cheap and it needs planning, but it beats carrying every section through a house.
Why do my trees look burnt on one side?
Salt. Onshore wind carries salt spray well back from the beach, and foliage on the seaward side of a tree gets scorched and drops while the sheltered side stays green. It is not a disease and it does not need treating - what it does mean is the tree is carrying uneven weight, which is worth reducing.