The pic I have is pretty crappy…Anyway, they are driving me crazy and I want to get rid of them…no matter how many times I cut them down, they ALWAYS grow back and they’re taking over my backyard. The pic was taken before the trees took over my backyard.
Here’s a description of them as well:
The trunk and uh…stem? of the tree is quite thin…It is more of a tan-ish color and when the trees are small the branches are kind of soft and green. They smell really weird too. The leaves are elongated and a dark green, the branches are thin, and, the leaves are horizontal to each other on either side of the branches. As far as I know, the trees weren’t planted, they grow wild just behind my backyard, but, they have begun growing IN my backyard and are impossible to get rid of! I live in Missouri and I’ve been looking at trees in Missouri, but, no luck finding this particular kind. It seems more like some kind of weed tree the way it just takes over and is so difficult to completely remove. Any guesses as to the type of tree and how to remove them would be appreciated!
Wow, I sure don’t know. I asked DH and he didn’t know either, but he said it may be something that comes up from the roots like bamboo in which some varieties can also be invasive.
It doesn’t look like any bamboo I’m familiar with, but does the bark have any rings around it? Too bad your winters haven’t been bad enough lately to kill it off.
I would need a better look to give you a definite answer, although the leaves appear to be very long compound pinnate which is unique (see my note at the bottom). Your best bet would be to take a leaf AND STEM clipping to a local university, garden center, or nursery (or high school bio or ag teacher). My plant tax prof once spent twenty minutes explaining to us how annoying it was when people bring him just a leaf and ask what it is, as many plants have very similar leaves but can be differentiated by the leaf scars, bark, or wood (and by the way, if those are compound leaves, make sure you get the WHOLE leaf not just a leaflet).
A lot of species reproduce by root clones and many will sprout again from a cut stump. My mom had a rosebush that my parents decided to get rid of and spent about five years pouring so much poison on the stupid thing (and cutting it, burning it, and so on) that to this day grass won’t grow within three feet of that garden (dad digs out the old dirt and puts in new every year so we can get some flowers to grow).
OK having said all that, I think your plant MAY be a sumac:
Sorry no idea how to get rid of it, but anyplace that knows herbicides should be able to help you. If you can’t find anyplace I’ll interogate my brother, his specialty at work was always herbicides and fertilizers (we worked at the same hardware store).
Staghorn Sumac is a very invasive shrub/small tree known for growing into dense thickets by producing ‘suckers’ from the roots (sprouts that become trees). The first link is a page of information on Staghorn Sumac complete with pictures, the next 2 show closer shots of the leaves.
It definitely does look like a Sumac, but, the trees here never have any flowers and the leaves don’t really change color, they just get a little yellowish and fall off…lol…I’m going to look into more Sumacs though, thanks everyone for all the help!
They might possibly locust trees. We thought we’d never get rid of the ones in our yard. There always seemed to be so many volunteers from spreading roots and seeds, too. Our locust trees had thorns which I reallly hated. Some varieties don’t have thorns. I wouldn’t have minded them so much if ours were thornless. All I can say is that it tooks years of diligently keeping after the volunteers and getting as much of the roots as possible.
It looks a lot like the locusts that invade my planters, which happen to be on a 17th-story rooftop in New York City. Roots like iron.
It also resembles ailanthus, the “Tree of Heaven” that was immortalized in “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” The male flowers smell like cat urine. (When I was a kid we called them “stinkweed.” However, these trees grow rapidly and top out at 30-40 feet.
If you want an authoritative i.d., though, Jess has the right idea.
Yeah, I found some info on the Tree of Heaven and it looks so much like it, but, I also read the Tree of Heaven sprouts fruits and the trees I have here never have any “fruit” or flowery looking growth, just leaves.
They do smell really odd, the trees. When it gets really hot out, that’s all I smell. I wouldn’t say they stink, but, it’s a really weird smell that makes it difficult for me to breathe if I’m too close to them. Not like an allergy type thing but makes my breathing very irregular and I have to move away from them to breathe properly.
I’m going to get more pictures tomorrow, it’s driving me nuts trying to figure out what this is! lol…I have to get rid of them…No matter how many times I cut them down, they, as mentioned by jess_hawk, just keep sprouting up again. And I mean it quite literally when I say they’re taking over my backyard! Last year I cut them all down in the summer and they began growing back quickly. I wanted to get out there and cut them down before the spring, when all the trees were still bare, but, with all the rain we’ve had, and, having my 3 year old son with me all day, I didn’t get a chance to go out there before they all bloomed again However, no plans for tomorrow, and, I think the weather is actually supposed to be nice so I may just do that all day tomorrow!
To get rid of them, you’re going to have to do something about the roots.
Can you describe the smell more in detail?
LOL, I’m too much of a biologist, now I’m just wishing I could invade your yard to get hands on with these suckers and see what they are! I look forward to seeing more photos if you get some!
I was going to suggest mimosa trees, just from your description of how they seem to grow wild and sprout up very quickly. The leaves also look similar, from what I can see. But the mimosa trees in my neighborhood produce a sort of “flower.” They are fluffy pink things; here’s a picture: http://www.guzmansgreenhouse.com/desert-trees/mimosa-tree.jpg
From this link I guess they’re also called silk trees. We’ve fought them in our yard; they really do grow like weeds.
Jess_hawk, unfortunately I don’t really know how to describe the smell, it’s like nothing I’ve ever smelled before so I don’t know really what to compare it to…lol…The smell is very strong, however, if you break off the branches! lol I’ll get the pics soon, getting ready to go out there and start chopping the trees down.
The leaves in Demonica’s photos are too large to be mimosa. We have a large one in our yard from a volunteer (a gift from God that provides needed shade in the middle of our back yard) that has just begun to put out leaves. They always come into leaf later than many other trees and will have small pink and yellow feathery flowers in a few more weeks. The mimosa leaves are more fine than those in the photos. Some of our neighbors still have locust trees which are in full leaf, but are too far away for me to compare the leaf size with those in the photos.
Right, I’m sure not going to argue that they’re definitely mimosas. I’ve never noticed any unpleasant smell from mimosa trees.
But as far as the leaves being too big, it may depend on what part of the country you’re in (the climate) as to when the leaves come out. The ones in my back yard and my whole neighborhood already have huge leaves, and they don’t flower until later in the summer.
Before I read any of the replies … sorry if this has been covered … but it looks like sumac … it runs rampant in the ditches in the rural areas around Wisconsin. I wouldn’t know how to kill it off except maybe for a heavy dose of Roundup after you do a mega prune in the fall!
Do they grow that fast? I had a locust tree at my child hood home and it took years to grow and it didn’t seem like an invasive bush at all … ??? I don’t know, I’m just asking!
Ok, tree identified…YAY! Turns out my next door neighbor knows exactly what they are and I happened to catch him today while I was cutting them down. It IS a Tree of Heaven (I prefer to call it tree from hell :teehee:)!
When I was looking through the links someone provided, I found the Tree of Heaven and my trees looked SO much like that, but, the trees here never had any “fruits” on them. However, one of the trees is finally sprouting some! I noticed it after I chopped down the majority of trees in my backyard. I guess they don’t get the fruit until they are mature because the one that had the fruit has been growing (behind my backyard) since we’ve lived here (just over 4 years now).
I spent hours outside today cutting them all down and I know they’ll just start sprouting again. Apparently to kill them off, you either need to get them completely from the roots, or, cut the stumps in half and apply some sort of weed killer or something. However, my neighbor tried the cutting in half and pouring weed killer on them, but, to no avail. Looks like I’m going to have to either be vigilant about cutting them, or, try to get the roots up. At least my backyard is all clear for now!
I did take pics of the trees today, but, I guess I don’t need to post them now…lol…Unless, you guys just want to see them :teehee:
Yes, they do grow pretty fast. We do have locusts too (my neighbor was able to identify that too…lol) and they had big ol thorns! Had to cut a couple of those down today too! Luckily the locust trees weren’t nearly as bad as the trees from hell!
At the links I posted I saw this tree and thought it did look very similar, but the fruit thing threw me, too. Glad you know what you’re dealing with anyway. My DH had to kill a tree once by pouring poison on it and it took a long time, but eventually worked. You might give it a try. Even if it only kills off one root system it’s a start.
However, no plans for tomorrow, and, I think the weather is actually supposed to be nice so I may just do that all day tomorrow!
