Who owns the trees on your street?
Enter your address to find out if a tree on your street is City-owned, privately-owned or shared. The map also shows the species, size and condition street trees in Guelph, which helps the City manage and maintain our street trees all year round.
Guelph street tree map
Trees on your property
If a tree trunk is completely on your property, the tree belongs to you.
As the property owner, you are responsible for maintenance, regardless of who planted the tree. On properties larger than 0.2 hectares (0.5 acres), all trees must be managed according to Guelph’s Tree Bylaw.
Please contact an arborist if you are concerned about the health or condition of trees on your property.
If necessary, the City may trim or cut trees on private property if they pose a safety risk to people using roads or sidewalks.
Trees on City property
If the tree trunk is completely on City property, the City takes care of maintenance to ensure the trees are safe and healthy. Please report any concerns you have about the condition of a City-owned tree.
Shared boundary street trees
If the trunk sits on the boundary between City and private property, it is a shared tree. Legally, there is shared ownership and responsibility, and the City typically takes care of maintenance.
Request tree inspection, pruning, planting or removal
Help care for street trees
After planting a new street tree, the City will water it regularly for the first two years. After that, we appreciate your help watering street trees once a week using about 10 to 15 litres of water. You can water more often during drought conditions—there are no restrictions for watering trees.
We mulch to help retain moisture in the soil, prevent weeds and protect the tree stem. If you like, you can add up to 10 centimetres of mulch around a tree. Keep mulch at least 10 centimetres away from the stem. Piling mulch around the stem can damage or kill the tree.
Do not prune or stake trees, and please don’t remove any existing stakes. If we use stakes, we typically remove them after one growing season.
If you live in a new subdivision and you have a concern about a tree on private property, please contact the builder or developer.
For more information
Please contact us if you believe the City classified tree ownership incorrectly, to request permission to plant a tree on City property or if you have any other questions about street trees in Guelph.
Parks
[email protected]
519-822-1260 extension 5626