Watch Out for These 4 Trees

Many trees make fantastic additions to Pennsylvania yards. Our favorites include paperback maples, pin oaks, sugar maples, and red oaks (pictured above).

However, certain trees can cause more harm than good. They can give off a foul odor, shed nasty seeds and sap, create a haven for pests, or split apart easily during storms. If you have a problematic tree in your yard, you may want to consider having it removed. If you are thinking of planting a tree in your yard, do your research, and avoid trees that will give you issues.

4 Trees to Never Plant in Your Yard

• Bradford Pear: Many people are drawn to this tree because they produce white flowers that look beautiful in spring. However, the flowers don’t smell too good–they give off a fishy odor. While supposedly a small, decorative tree, bradford pears quickly shoot upwards and outwards, taking over your yard with dense, weak branches. If you look closely at the tree, you’ll notice that all branches stem from a single point on the trunk, a sign of weak structure. At the first sign of a strong wind, your tree will split apart.
• Female Gingko Tree: These trees are durable and beautiful, but the female trees shed a super sticky fruit during the fall. These fruits will end up all over your yard and things will get messy. While only the female trees produce the fruit, it isn’t possible to distinguish between a male and female gingko while they’re in the seedling stage.
• Sweet Gum Tree: This tree’s downfall is its spiky brown seed pods. These fall off the tree every autumn, causing a tripping hazard in your yard. They are difficult to rake, so you will need to pick them up by hand, and this isn’t a chore you can safely skip. When it comes time to mow your lawn, they become dangerous projectiles.
• Mimosa: Another tree that is touted for having attractive blossoms, steer clear of the mimosa. Even though the pink, fluffy flowers look cute in summer, they really only bloom for about 2 weeks. The rest of the year, you’re left with ugly, 6-inch long, brown seed pods. These pods stay on your tree, even after the leaves fall. Worse yet, the pods do their job well. No matter where they land, you will have a mimosa sprouting in no time. The trees die quickly and provide a great home for nasty insects.

Also, steer clear from the Tree of Heaven, which we’ve warned our customers about before. These trees create a haven for an invasive pest, the Spotted Lantern Fly. You also want to keep a close eye on Ash trees that may be in your yard. Emerald Ash Borers, an incredibly destructive species of beetle, have been spotted in the area.