What is a trash tree?

[Ted Shoemaker]

Hello,

I have heard and read the expression "trash tree", but I don't know what it means. If some trees are going to be offensive to my neighbors, I want to know before I plant it! (And it's not as simple as just asking my neighbors before buying. Lots of people don't know, for example, what a blackgum, buckeye, or Euonymus is.)

So, (1) What does the expression "trash tree" mean? (2) How/where do I find out, before buying and planting, whether species XYZ is a trash tree?

Thank you very much!

Ted Shoemaker

[Marley1372]

"trash trees" are trees that have short life spans, grow very fast, and have weak wood. You could also use the trem to decribe trees that drop a large amount of nasty fruit, large leaves, branches and the like. I dont know what area you are in, but here in the midwest, trees like poplar, willow, silver maple, sycamore, and paulownia fit this description.

Toad

[Doug Kanter]

Sycamores don't drop stuff. They throw it, and sometimes with alarming accuracy. :-)

[gregpresley]

[Ted Shoemaker]

I can think of legitimate reasons to want a tree like that. For example, suppose you plan on living for only a few years in any one place, then moving on. You'd like to have fairly tall trees in some of those places, and not just "twigs" that will someday be nice for some future resident.

Hey - that's mulch!

I guess I have nothing against "trash trees". :)

Thanks for the good answers.

Ted Shoemaker

[simy1]

a tree with undesirable qualities, of course.

Here is alist of undesirable qualities:

1) a poor shape when full grown 2) a tendency to have diseased limbs (partially covered by others, but those limbs make widows also when people go up and try to cut them) 3) prolific reseeding, in particular the capability to reseed through thick groundcover 4) a combination of poor gardening qualities: tendency to disease or tendency to attract pests (willow), poor fall color, no flowering, no edible fruits or nuts, allelopathy

In my area, trash trees include hickory (which sprouts in all beds within 50 yds, ground cover or not), elm (because of Dutch elm, the elms here survive but are very poor-looking), poplar (ugly rotten limbs, poor shape), various conifers (rot gutters, kills grass), some maples (extreme seeding wherever ground is uncovered). Non trash trees include oak, chestnut, ash (now extinct), most flowering trees, and other maples.

[Newt]

Here is a good site for checking out particulars on trees.

-- Newt

[Ted Shoemaker]

Ted Shoemaker