THE City of Swan is offering two years of free watering for any residents who are part of its Free Street Tree program.

The watering program runs from October to April and currently provides 40L of water to verge trees once a week until December, increasing to twice a week during the hot summer period between December and March.

Over 350 people received a free street tree on their verge during the 2023 planting season, up 40 per cent from the previous year’s season. All new requests will be included in the City of Swan 2024 winter planting plan.

In the past it has been the responsibility of residents to water any trees the council had planted as part of the initiative, but City of Swan acting chief executive officer Meriel Pickering said over the years the city found there was a high failure rate due to various factors such as residents moving.

“While planting new trees is important, ensuring these trees reach maturity so we can get the maximum benefit from the urban canopy is equally important,” she said.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology’s long-range forecast for spring, while most of Australia is at least three times likely to experience unusually high maximum temperatures from October to December, WA is actually four time as likely.

Ms Pickering said the changes made to the program this year will be monitored over summer to gauge effectiveness.