grass?....no way if its a Norway

if you want grass.. goodbye norway ...

no alternative ... period

ken

Okay, so we have to decide if we are okay with no grass. If we are, is it a major problem keeping this tree? It touches the house and I guess the root would grow toward the foundation?

Another benefit of the tree is that the back of our house is five stories and a bit of an eyesore. At least the tree hides that.

Here they get aphids and drip stickiness in summer. And it is typical for the area beneath them to be bare. Elsewhere in North America the tree is a major weed, there are a few places I have seen here also where thousands of them have come up.

Big maples are for big spaces. Your tree wants to grow at least double the size it is now.

Norway maple is the worst weed tree in the eastern US. By all means get rid of it while it's still small enough to do without too much trouble.

"Norway maple is the worst weed tree in the eastern US."
Worse than tree of heaven? Empress tree? White mulberry? Bradford pear?

This post was edited by Huggorm on Sat, May 17, 14 at 8:34

Huggorm: Yes. It's rampant reproduction plus its ability to produce allelopathic chemicals gives it the prize. The ones you mention are pest trees, but not as bad as the maple. There are New England towns where it has crowded out 90% of the native species and more desireable ornamentals. It's not even good for firewood.

Strange. I live in its native range and it is strong at good soil but not that strong. It is also quite good for firewood, but hard to split. Not my favorit maple, but a nice component of a broadleaf forest

OP, I would start planning on removal this winter. Really it seems like a bit of a tight spot for the tree but that way YOU have a whole summer to decide if you like the tree or not.

Besides the cost of removal, I find nothing wrong with planting a bush or tree for a decade or two if usefullness then replacing it as it grows past size.

Hey Huggorm,

In your native range, if I'm not mistaken, the women grow taller, and are known for blonde foliage, no? JK

Hell, I just found out that the t.o.h. was used for silk production. Amazing how such a stinkin' tree can produce such a fine material, stronger than silk produced form mulberry.

And according to a botanist from Harvard, "Ailanthus has a different appearance in its homeland, China. As far as I know, there ailanthus appears neither bushy nor weedy. It rarely occurs within the city limits, but grows in villages or in the suburbs as isolated trees with straight, tall boles and rather flat crowns".

Who'd 'ave known? It's also known there as an excellent firewood, on par with oak (but hard to split....hmmm...maybe climate does matter....).

M

please understand.. that trees will not attack and destroy.. a fully intact foundation.. basement.. nor pipes ..

but they will take advantage of pre-exisiting problems... like foundations/basements that are already cracked... or pipes that are already leaking ...

one option ... would be to plant some other things right now... to hide the sight lines ... and once they get going.. planning on taking down this one in the next few years ... but as noted.. the replacements will have to be as far from the canopy as possible ...

what do you need grass for?? .. the kids to frolic in??? .. if so.. go with kids as a high point variable ... they need grass ...

i cant go any further than any of the above peeps.. in my hatred for this tree ... so i would be repetitive ...

a pic might help us understand a 20 foot deep backyard.. and what you are dealing with.. right now.. we are kinda guessing about all that ...

ken

I have burned a lot of Norway Maple over the years for firewood. It burns nice and splits 'OK'. Not as easy as some, but not near as hard, either.
I've done my part in getting rid of them.
Mike

Norway maple contains about 20 million btus per cord, slightly less than elm, for example. The native sugar maple contains 25 MBTUs. The sugar maple is one of the native species that is most vulnerable to competition from the introduced Norway maple. The former is by far a more valuable tree both economically and horticulturally. Some states have listed Norway maple as an invasive species, but it continues to be widely sold.

Wow, thank you everybody for all the suggestions. I didn't know this tree was so despised. It certainly likes to reproduce; I have another 3 small maples at the lot boundary that are coming out.

I don't even think I could take much of a pic of this tree in my yard without getting a much wider lens. I'll give it a try later.

"what do you need grass for?? .. the kids to frolic in??? .. if so.. go with kids as a high point variable ... they need grass ..."

yes, we have kids so I just assumed we need grass. Of course a swing on a big maple would be nice for them too :) However, I already plan to remove the only major branch since it reaches out to my neighbors yard.

Will this tree really mess up the side of my house with sap and such?

Norway is invasive, absolutely, and I cringe when I run into them in the wilds of NJ (which is common). But... as a yard tree... in the right place... they are decent. Your backyard sounds pretty small though, arguing against it being "the right place".