Ailanthus altissima

The flowers were very small, but they were there. There are male and female trees and this one is a female.

Quite invasive; they spread by seeds and also by roots to form colonies. Cut them down and grind stumps if possible. Or use woody herbicide. Prepare to treat root sprouts for several years thereafter (clip and treat them early for best results).

Wow, that was fast. Thanks! I've been searching the net for days with no luck. You appear to be spot on with your identification. The bad news(for me), is that further research tells me that the root systems on these things are/can be devastating to foundations, and I've already had to spend thousands having slab injections done to fill voids under my full basement slab, which had large cracks and heaves. No doubt these tree roots contributed.

It's a shame though, I kind of like the tropical look,..there's just too many of them. I just read that even when treating the (cut down) stump with round up, the roots will "spill out" the herbicide, possibly harming neighboring trees. This is going to be likely a futile attempt at erradicating these things. Geez!

Well at least now I know. Thanks again.

Marc

the roots will "spill out" the herbicide, possibly harming neighboring trees.

I've not heard this. However the tree itself does have an allelopathic property which makes it likely that other plants won't want to grow near it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Info here, source cited

Well, I have literally dozens of them around. Luckily, I guess, only a few are large. I am worried about two that are very close to the front of house, maybe around 10' or so. They have a trunk width of around 10" or more, if measured simply left to right.

I've already cut a couple of encroaching limbs, but am worried about trying to cut these down myself, as I can't afford a tree service currently. Also, they are embedded in an embankment wall of dirt, which is covered with serge stone, so these two guys are helping with preventing erosion. The house has been there 15 years, so I wonder if the roots on these two have done all the damage they're going to do? They're approximately 30' or more tall.

What do you think?

Ironically, the common name of this is 'Tree of Heaven'.

Linda

You should be able to get an arborist to come out for a quote and an assesment (better than what someone on the internet can do). Try to find one that is truly an arborist and not just a salesman for a tree cutting operation (although admittedly arborists do work for tree cutting companies but you want one that is more than just a shill).

The roots from two of these large trees grew under my foundation footings, the trees were 50 feet distant. Of course at that distance, the smallish roots did not damage the foundation, but yours are much closer. Once removed, we did not get a lot of resprouting.

Although it is possible yours were deliberately planted, they could be seedlings from a much larger nearby tree (perhaps removed before you bought the place). Seedlings tend to pop up in rows near a fence or foundation. I would at least get these cut down so that another crop of ripening seed does not saturate any disturbed soil near your house.

I'm in a true conundrum. These two large specimens actually look nice where they are. I've also read that, when cut down, it triggers a type of survival mechanism that causes the root system to grow at an even faster rate, so to speak. So killing the trees down to the foots seems paramount.

I've also read that hammering copper nails around the perimeter in one inch increments will kill the tree over time. Any truth to this? I just wish there was a way to know how active 15 year old roots are on these "trees of heaven", or is it "of hell". Lol