Weed or Tree ID

[Danno77]

OK, i know I usually answer, not ask, for tree IDs, but I have no idea what this thing is.

It has grown from nothing in my wife's flower garden since about Early June and apparently does quite well in severe drought conditions. That's about 8-9 feet tall.

It's either the toughest looking weed ever or some kind of ash.

 

[jeff_t]

Tree of heaven. Kill it NOW.

 

[Danno77]

there ya go. It's BOTH a tree AND a weed. Consider it gone.

 

[ScotO]

Looks alot like some kind of sumac, to me. Leaves don't quite look to be the right shape, but they are kinda 'fern-like', as is a sumac. The reddish fuzz on the stems and branches mimics a sumac. Just my PO.

 

[Danno77]

Yep, "tree of heaven" = Chinese Sumac, apparently. I've learned my one thing for the day, so I'm done.

 

[Danno77]

wait. looking at more "sumac" identification stuff leads me to think my leaves are too broad to be Chinese Sumac. They look a LOT like Poison Sumac. I handled the heck out of the stuff, but have no reaction. I am not allergic to poison Ivy, does that mean I'm not allergic to Poison Sumac?

 

[Danno77]

although apparently: "The rash usually appears 8 to 48 hours after your contact with the urushiol. But it can occur from 5 hours to 15 days after touching the plant."

So, in two weeks when I'm trying to figure out what the heck this rash is from, you'll all remind me of this. I think it was just last fall that I thought I had my first ever PI reaction, but was never really sure.

 

[jeff_t]

If it has grown eight feet since June, your wife probably doesn't want it in her flower garden. Invasive, fast growing and spreading, and stinky.

I burned some off a highway overpass in front of a friend's house a few years ago. It was all 10-15' tall, and was so thick you couldn't walk through it. It was gone for the rest of the summer, but the following year you couldn't tell I had burned it. It was just as thick and nasty as it had been.

 

[Danno77]

I told her that if she didn't want it in her flower garden she'd have plucked it out at a foot, lol.

I hate mowing and trimming around that danged weed patch every year. Tempted to just pull all the stones and make it my yard again.

 

[ROVERT]

Looks like Ailanthus (tree of heaven) to me. It's not the easiest stuff to get rid of. Good luck. Make sure you get all the suckers.

I guess it could be poison sumac. I don't think poison sumac has fuzzy stems and I think it is primary a wetland tree/shrub. Since you handled it already, break a stem off and see what it smells like. Ailanthus has a kind of peanut like smell to it.

 

[Danno77]

i'm calmed down a little on the idea that it's poison sumac because it doesn't look like it grows around here and we are in a drought anyway.

generally speaking it shouldn't be hard to rid the flower garden of it if she just takes care of it like she should, but this summer was just insanely hot, busy, and dry, so she let it go.

 

[swagler85]

Ive got one of those next to my fire pit wood. It grows like crazy even in a drought. I cut that thing back last year and this year it was up over my head again before I cut it back down.

 

[clemsonfor]

First thought was Tree of Heaven esp if it got that big in a hurry, second some type of sumac, cut it and paint the stumps with full strength glyphosate, then once confirmed dead remove all the roots if you want.

 

[TimJ]

I have a few............dark purple berries on the crown are now in full swing

 

[Wood Duck]

I'd say that is Ailanthus, aka tree of Heaven. My field guide actually shows the small notches near the base of each leaflet that I see in your photo. Most of the common sumacs have toothed leaflets, unlike the mostly smooth edges leaflets in your photo. Poison Sumac does not have toothed edges on the leaflets, but is actually pretty rare. I have never seen Poison Sumac despite being a wetland and plant identification type of guy. Kill the Ailanthus.

 

[lukem]

Tree of heaven for sure. You'll know for sure when you smell it (smells like a cow lot). Cut it, burn the brush, and give it a healthy dose of tordon RTU on the stump....otherwise it will come back.

 

[Danno77]

what are the roots likely to be like? Are we talking too much for dodge+chain wrapped around the sucker?

 

[jharkin]

Man we had one of these growing like crazy in my wife's flower gardens this year also. She sent me in there to pull it out... ended up chopping it down.

Glad I was wearing gloves when I did.

 

[Danno77]

how big would one of these get in a couple of years with some actual precipitation. I really am surprised it got that large in one summer.

 

[lukem]

what are the roots likely to be like? Are we talking too much for dodge+chain wrapped around the sucker?

The truck would probably get it out...but I'm more concerned about the roots that would be left in the ground that *may* regrown into new trees. Not sure if that would happen...but some trees will regrow from just a root (hedge, locust, apple, etc).

 

[Wood Duck]

I'd cut the stem and treat the cut end with concentrated roundup or something similar.

 

[BrowningBAR]

wait. looking at more "sumac" identification stuff leads me to think my leaves are too broad to be Chinese Sumac. They look a LOT like Poison Sumac. I handled the heck out of the stuff, but have no reaction. I am not allergic to poison Ivy, does that mean I'm not allergic to Poison Sumac?

I cal them crap trees. Fast growing, look like hell, and will regrow unless you get the entire root. I don't think it is Poison Sumac as I react to Sumac, Oak, and Ivy.

 

[JustWood]

It may be black walnut.
It does look like sumac also

 

[Danno77]

i considered walnut for a second, but i know BW, pretty well.

 

[BrowningBAR]

how big would one of these get in a couple of years with some actual precipitation. I really am surprised it got that large in one summer.

I have a few that are 20'+ feet that are in the back of the property.