Allowed a volunteer tree to grow
enlarge this imageYou can identify a volunteer tree or shrub and know its worth, even in winter. The buds and bud scars are distinctive. You can identify this twig as from tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima). That's the tree famous for being able to grow anywhere, as the tree in "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."
I thought it was so cool that a little tree had
volunteered in our yard. By the time I figured out it was a weedy
tree of heaven, man what a job it was to dig out that long
root!
Oh, how those weed trees hang onto life! Here are (left)
Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila) and tree of heaven (right)
saplings. The elm may be two years old. The tree of heaven is at
least two -- see where it was cut off in year one, and how it came
back two-for-one?
A tree's tap root eventually dwindles, as roots at the edge
of the dripline out-perform it in gathering water and nutrients.
But in the first couple of years the tap root is a formidable
barrier to easy removal!
Compare the bud scar (where the petiole was attached last
year) and winter bud of this red horsechestnut (Aesculus x
carnea) to those of the tree of heaven (photo at the top
of this page). You can distiguish between them, right? Then you'll
know to pull out the tree of heaven, right away!