Tree Watering & Care

Learn how to keep trees healthy and help care for Surrey's street trees.

If you're on a water meter program, the estimated yearly cost of watering a street tree is less than one cup of coffee.

Young street trees need lots of water to survive and grow. We put watering bags on thousands of young street trees in Surrey because it is the most effective way to water them. Once filled, the water slowly releases through small holes in the bag over 4 to 6 hours.

If a street tree near your home has a watering bag, you can help by filling it twice per week. If there is a young street tree near your home without a watering bag, you can request one by calling 604-501-5050.

Older trees need water too. They have a more developed root system and soak up water at their drip line (the tree's outermost edge or where rain would drip off of their longest branches) where their roots are.

For older trees, water the base of the tree with a slow-running hose twice a week for 15 minutes or use a watering bucket. You can also use a soaker hose coiled around the drip line.

If you'd like a free watering bucket, call 604-501-5050 or email [email protected].

Adding mulch to the area around the base of the tree (a tree well) helps keep the soil moist. Mulch also helps keep weeds away and prevents lawn tools, like line trimmers, from accidentally hitting the trunk. Don't make a "mulch volcano"—a mound of mulch touching the tree trunk. This harms trees and traps moisture against the tree's bark, leading to many tree health issues.

You can also beautify your tree well by adding soil instead of mulch and planting flowers. Please do not build high beds around the tree.

We recommend using organic mulch materials including:

Read the mulch application guidelines for more information.

Thank you for helping care for Surrey's street trees!

Learn if you need a permit to prune trees, and how to prune your trees without damaging them.

Find out more about planting a tree in your yard or joining a Releaf planting event.