Comments on Root Simple: Least Favorite Plant: Tree of Heaven

Had a really big one. About 70'and branchless...

2011-12-05T21:31:14.222-08:00

Had a really big one. About 70'and branchless for the first 15'. Wish I'd known about you before I sold the property and the next owner took it down. Almost ordered a vanity at Home Depot that was made of Ailanthus. It looked good.

I Found the Best way to Kill it dig into the Groun...

2011-10-14T07:37:16.275-07:00

I Found the Best way to Kill it dig into the Ground two feet. the Root system is not that deep. I Learned that is the best way to Cortal that Tree. Really Also learn that its a Medican Tree to just like the Black walnut(Native here but thats besides the Point) We Can use those trees the same way Look it up. Plus, we ues this Tree then it maybe easyer to cotorn.

What do I do for the millions of baby trees though...

2011-06-14T12:15:03.834-07:00

What do I do for the millions of baby trees though?

Anonymous--yow! In the past I've gotten rid of...

2011-06-13T20:45:21.778-07:00

Anonymous--yow! In the past I've gotten rid of troublesome trees by cutting them to a stump, drilling holes and pouring in glysophate. Good luck!

I was wondering if you could give me some advice a...

2011-06-13T19:41:42.296-07:00

I was wondering if you could give me some advice as to how I could possibly get rid of these. I have two huge ones growing in my front yard and there are little babies everywhere. they are actually growing out of the roots of the two adult trees, and I am going to get them taken out, but the landscaper said that the babies could continue to grow for 10 year. Would tilling it get rid of them? Or is that two extreme? I tried to dig them out, and could never get down to the big root because my shovel would break, and spent about an hour on a square yard, and then put noxall on it, and there are more growing from that same spot. There are atleast 10 in every square foot of my yard! Someone help me!

Hi, You mentioned that you are an artist and have ...

2011-02-18T17:02:01.963-08:00

Hi, You mentioned that you are an artist and have worked with this tree. I am a student artist in Chicago looking to make a large scale sculpture with some. Any ideas? Thank you.

@lilltehouseontheurbanprairie is the tree of heave...

2009-10-17T14:15:14.551-07:00

@lilltehouseontheurbanprairie
is the tree of heaven so evil as some would like to portray it? or is it merely exploiting a condition that we humans have created?

Yes we humans make the wounds and tree of heaven just fills in the dead space. People don't like them because they threaten our perceived dominion over nature. How dare they sprout-up without our permission. I too am an artist working with this tree. Many possibilities.

i think the folks from the tree of heaven workshop...

2009-10-16T05:46:36.375-07:00

i think the folks from the tree of heaven workshop know all the arguments against the tree of heaven and grow it in spite of that. much like those of of who live in detroit have heard all the arguments against living in detroit and we do it anyway, even thrive here.

while i understand the arguments against the tree of heaven - and have battled my fair share - i still have a lot of respect for them. basic ecology tells us that if there is a niche to be filled someone will fill it. it just so happens that detroit is full of smoggy vacant lots which the tree of heaven is only to happy to fill.

is the tree of heaven so evil as some would like to portray it? or is it merely exploiting a condition that we humans have created?

I have to come down on the side of "Lets grow...

2009-10-09T19:14:12.346-07:00

I have to come down on the side of "Lets grow sumpin' GOOD! Maybe there could be a Paulwania or Emperess trees farm if there is just a simple desire for just big ol'fast growing trees.Theres also possibly another answer. The sponsor of the Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop could be enlightened as to how the new age farmers could grow something thats BETTER, STRONGER, and
FEEDS People!

thank you for giving this awful tree a name!

2009-10-09T11:29:34.196-07:00

thank you for giving this awful tree a name!

Kudzu might make more sense. After all, the folia...

2009-10-09T09:26:31.305-07:00

Kudzu might make more sense. After all, the foliage is good fodder, the below-ground portions yield edible (and fermentable...) starch, and they fix nitrogen, leaving richer soil than they find.

Tree of Heaven only produce herbicide, difficult timber, and (if you have the right sort of moth) silk.

What's next? Plantations of kudzo?

2009-10-08T04:52:10.798-07:00

What's next? Plantations of kudzo?

i'll have to disagree with this tactic for wha...

2009-10-07T20:33:21.521-07:00

i'll have to disagree with this tactic for what i call the 'tree of hell', aka 'evil weed tree'. these trees are bad for the soil, birds don't nest in them, the branches are extremely fragile, and the wood is very soft. also, the leaves can be irritable to the skin, and handling it without gloves makes your hands smell like cat pee. also, they dont work as firewood either due to the stank (beyond 'stink') of the burning smell. i have two 50' ailanthus in my back yard and the pods on the male drop over 300,000 pods all over the yard, and in the front yard where I have a female tree, the pollen is so thick that my yard is yellow in early summer and my gutters that empty into my rain barrels fill up with the pollen and the water that drains into them also has that lovely cat pee smell.

I would also like to state that it does NOT speak of the city's economic health as a whole. Detroit has bigger problems than these trees. It has more to do with the neighborhoods, as

Also I think 40 years is gross overestimation considering these grow 3-5 feet per year. And getting rid of them is possible, it just takes a LOT of persistence and effort. Encouraging the growth of an invasive species is ridiculous - it's like saying 'oK well Americans aren't doing enough to take care of their environment so let's go the Idiocracy route and put gatorade directly onto the plants'.

I have my two trees in the back scheduled to come out next week. In their place? Beneficial trees like apple, pear, and filbert. Planting forests of ailanthus is asinine -I bet Detroit hasnt even conceptualized using those spaces for gardens that will actually FEED the struggling population.

(Can you tell how frustrated this 'tree' gets me?)

I just finished reading "A Tree Grows in Broo...

2009-10-07T19:33:13.547-07:00

I just finished reading "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith, wherein the author reaches the same conclusion as you do. I think you'd like reading the first chapter or so of the book, even if you didn't read the rest.

Ghetto palms? Is that similar to "Ghetto Gr...

2009-10-07T19:30:06.023-07:00

Ghetto palms?
Is that similar to "Ghetto Grandmothers"?
Jesus. You're all the same.

40 years sounds like an awfully long time for the ...

2009-10-07T19:00:31.219-07:00

40 years sounds like an awfully long time for the kind of growth they want. They're welcome to come harvest our neighbor's forest at any time...