Trees of New Junction
New Junction is made up of functional zones - a Civic zone is centred around the north south path and formalised with gridded tree planting which provide a shaded environment for resting, relaxing and with art works placed through the space.
The planting selected originates from local native trees species and those commonly found in gardens in the Midland area and grass type planting similar to the low lying areas along the close by Swan River and brooks.
Tree species include Eucalyptus Wandoo native to the Perth Hills. Melaleuca leucadendra representing the paperbarks in the wetland areas and Lagerstroemia tuscarora the classic Crepe Myrtle found in many local gardens.
With the opening of Stage 1 Weeip Park we can now see 184 trees planted – 130 Eucalyptus (Wandoo), 11 Lagerstroemia, 52 Melaleuca and a lovely Jacaranda as a specimen tree.
Stage 2 Weeip Park, which is now complete, sees a further 40 trees planted, comprising of Eucalyptus lane-poolei, Lagerstroemia and Melaleuca.
This brings tree planting to about 30% of what has been planned for New Junction.
Lagerstroemia indica Tuscarora
Is known as crape myrtle, crepe myrtle, crêpe myrtle, is native to the Indian Subcontinent and also to Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan.
It will grow to 6 metres (20 ft) with a spread of 6 metres. This deciduous tree has small oval shaped green leaves which turn a stunning reddish/orange in autumn. The most striking part of the tree is the beautiful display of vibrant, hot pink, crinkled flowers which appear in late summer.
Eucalyptus lane-poolei
Commonly known as salmon white gum, it is a species of tree or mallee that is endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth but scaly-looking bark, narrow lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, creamy white flowers and hemispherical fruit.
The gum typically grows to a height of 3–12 m and has smooth whitish grey to orange-brown bark, often appearing scaly due to partly shed flakes of older bark.
Salmon white gum is found on slopes and creek banks along the west coast in the Wheatbelt, Peel and South West regions of Western Australia extending from Coorow in the north to Busselton in the south where it grows in sandy or sandy-loam soils containing lateritic or granitic gravel. A distinct population is found on the western side of the Darling Range. The species favours Guildford soil of the Perth metropolitan region, on the Swan Coastal Plain, and occurs on wetter sites that inhibit otherwise dominant eucalypts.
Melaleuca leucadendra
Commonly known as weeping paperbark, long-leaved paperbark or white paperbark is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is widespread in northern Australia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and the Torres Strait Islands. It is a tree, sometimes growing to more than 20 m (70 ft) with a trunk covered with thick, white, papery bark and weeping thinner branches. It has a long flowering season, being able to flower at almost any time of the year.
Aboriginal people used strips of bark from this tree and tied them to a frame of Dodonaea branches to build huts that were waterproof. The bark was used to wrap food before cooking in an underground oven. It was also used to wrap the bodies of their dead. The bark from trunks of very large trees was used to make bark canoes. The crushed leaves were used to treat respiratory infections and the flowers for making a sweet drink.
Eucalyptus wandoo
The Wandoo is a tree that occurs from Geraldton to the south coast, and from the west coast inland as far as Narembeen. It typically grows to a height of 25 m and has a smooth white bark, often with patches of white, grey or light brown.
Flowering occurs from December or January to May and the flowers are white.
Eucalyptus wandoo was first described in 1934 by William Faris Blakely, the specific epithet "wandoo" comes from the Noongar name for the tree.
Jacaranda
The Jacaranda is a sub-tropical tree native to south-central South America that has been widely planted elsewhere because of its attractive and long-lasting pale indigo flowers which bloom in our summer.
Jacaranda grows to a height of up to 20m, the tree planted in New Junction is some 6 metres tall.