Unknown tree - sumac, walnut, tree of heaven?
jenniferg76
10 years ago
I'll probably get rid of this tree no matter what it is, because it's growing in the middle of other stuff, but I'd like to know what it is first (as it might determine whether I can just cut it down or if I need to use chemical measures).
More pictures to follow...
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jenniferg76
10 years agoCloseup of leaf with toothed edges (which makes me think it's not tree of heaven).
jenniferg76
10 years agoFlower buds. The grouping/pattern of buds doesn't look like the pictures online of sumac flowers. This is almost more umbel-like.
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Uuh ... Tree of Heaven are everywhere! Please help me.
Comments (23)Seriously jujujojo, much of what you posted is sumac, not tree of heaven, some smooth sumac I think, and several staghorn sumac, I am quite sure. As Smivies said, staghorn sumac is one of several native early colonizers of open field, sprouting and growing quickly once the field is no longer mowed. (White pine and various wild cherries do the same thing here, though don't spread colonially via roots like the sumac and aspen, another early colonizer of old fields.) That isn't to say that other non-native plants won't take advantage of similar situations and fill in. IME many native plants are more likely to coexist well with others than many of the non-natives like tree of heaven or buckthorn, which seed prolifically and crowd out the natives. IMO, sumac is one of those right plant, right place genera because they do sucker. We maintain one large clump of staghorn sumac in an area where we and the wildlife can appreciate it, but its spread can be contained through mowing. When we bought our old farm, the fields were starting to grow up in sumac, but with several mowings a year early on, and now 2 or 3 mowings a year with a brush hog (heavy duty tractor pulled mower) the field stays clear of small trees and shrubs, including sumac. If you have space for some sumac and the time and equipment to maintain it, it's a wonderful plant. The fruit (those fuzzy red clumps that are in photos 1, 3, and 5) are good food for various birds, along with the insects that live in the clumps. Fall color is stunning, a mix of chartreuse, gold, orange and red, and many birds use them for nesting and habitat. I have a wonderful memory of finding an old field full of sumac while walking one day that was hopping with cedar waxwings, and where I used to work there was a long stretch of it that had robins in it all fall and winter. Sumac along an old field edge in the farm next to us From September 28, 2014 and here's the top of our clump on the far left, a bit more orange than the clump above. From 2013 Here is a link to a blog where she talks about insect eating birds liking the critters in the sumac: http://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/staghorn-sumac-seed-heads-and-their-inhabitants/ and the link below is about birds that use the fruit as late winter food. Here is a link that might be useful: songbirds and sumac...See MoreSumac Trees
Comments (43)I love the sumacs on my country property - note the word country. I have no problems with them growing in the roadside ditch or on the edges of the forested areas - they don't grow at all under a canopy. When they sprout up in the grassy areas abutting the woods they simply get mowed down with everything else, or pulled up if they start to encroach into the gardens. I wonder if people growing them in the city have tried just mowing - if a tree can't get nutrients via sunlight even the roots will die off eventually, I would think....See MoreTree of heaven wood chips
Comments (15)Well here's an interesting factoid I learned about the odor of ailanthus (tree of heaven). The perception of its smell is controlled by the same gene that controls that of cilantro and stink bugs! I myself adore the smell and taste of cilantro, and take great sensual pleasure in crushing stinking bugs and pulling up ailanthus seedlings, which smell to me like sweet peanut butter. Now, would someone please elaborate further on why sawdust can not be considered wood chips hastened along in the process of decomposition? I use wood shavings (borderline sawdust) a lumber mill as bedding for my chickens, and often throw it in the kitchen scrap compost as a carbon. Is this wrong? On the other hand, would putting sawdust down on a path suppress weeds better than wood chips??...See MoreHeaven-Hell Trees hardy to USDA zone 4
Comments (45)BTW, here is another interesting Latin naming issue, although there appears to be an explanation for it (?) Anyway, according to the ACS database: 1. Pinus sylvestris 'Glauca Nana' http://conifersociety.org/conifers/conifer/pinus/sylvestris/glauca-nana/ is a different plant from (note that the two words in the cultivar name are transposed) 2. Pinus sylvestris 'Nana Glauca' http://conifersociety.org/conifers/conifer/pinus/sylvestris/nana-glauca/ Although, in this case, the naming of plant 2 appears to have been necessitated to differentiate it from yet another different plant 3. Pinus sylvestris 'Nana' http://conifersociety.org/conifers/conifer/pinus/sylvestris/nana/ When plant hunting, make sure whether it is plant 1 or plant 2 that you are bringing home. Plant 1 is hardy to USDA zone 3, whereas plant 2 is hardy to USDA zone 5. It is all according to the ACS database, I am innocent :-)...See Moresam_md
10 years agoterrene
10 years ago
Sara Malone Zone 9b
10 years agojenniferg76
10 years agoUser
10 years ago
Iris GW
10 years agolucky_p
10 years agoUser
10 years ago
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