Trees Not wanted in Your Yard
By David Wall, Mount Pleasant Master Gardener
Advice on what NOT to plant in your yard!
- Silver maple. Fast growing shade tree, with weak wood prone to breaking in wind. Roots love sewage pipes. Well known for cracking driveways & sidewalks.
- Ash trees. Sturdy, tough, well-liked tree, and property value increaser.. Unfortunately, the Emerald ash borer is on track to eliminate the species.
- Quaking Aspen. Not much of a problem in our area, but give it an inch, and it’ll take a mile. Can be hideously invasive. Largest living organism is an aspen root system in Utah weighing 6,600 tons and thought to be 60-80,000 years old.
- Lombardy poplar. Fast growing & columnar shape. Susceptible to numerous diseases and insects. Roots are invasive and difficult to stop.
- Willow. Beautiful tree with serious water needs including sewage and irrigation lines. Wood is weak and tree has a short life, usually around 30 years. Tree has more than its share of disease & insect problems.
- Bradford Pear. A suburban favorite, but has very short life span, and limbs a subject to breaking off. Flowers look nice, but not odorous as opposed to aromatic!
- Mountain cedar. Unbelievable amount of pollen releaser can cause serious allergy problems. On a calm morning, I’ve seen a literal yellow circle of pollen around these trees in late spring and early summer.
- Mulberry. If growing silkworms, this is a great tree. Otherwise, pollen messy fruit and shade so dense grass won’t grow beneath it, make it much less desirable.
- Black walnut. Fruits are messy and hard on lawn mowers. Secretes toxins to prevent most anything growing beneath or immediately nearby.
- Leland Cypress. Great for privacy fence, but is a serious fire hazard. High maintenance required, and when taller, susceptible to falling over in high winds.
