Ailanthus altissima

21 years ago

Having read all these trendy garden books about architectural foliage planting etc. etc. I ordered some A. altissima seeds and have eventually produced a few scrubby little seedlings which are now planted out in the beds. The intention is to stool them every year to produce luscious, large leaves, which works very well with things like elder, cotinus & pawlonia. However, I've just looked at this website- www.davesgarden.com.pf/go/1699 which says that in the US it is a noxious, invasive weed that only a fool would plant.

Is this plant likely to behave the same way here? I planted some last autumn and they didn't make it through the winter. Is cold likely to be a good controlling factor here? Or should I go out and pull them up immediately?

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Comments (3)

Aaron_UK
21 years ago
It is certainly an invasive pest here in London, but I have not seen it becoming a problem in other parts of the country.
moriati
21 years ago
If the tree is coppiced annually, there is unlikely to be any seeds to spread.

Bear in mind though, trees such as Ailanthus and Paulonia are extremely fast-growing trees. Neglect coppicing for a couple of years and you have a big problem. Bigger than your house!

Moriati
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garden_nerd
Original Author
21 years ago
I can certainly vouch for the Pawlonia - it's one remaining stem is already 5 foot long and still has several months to go. It is one of the most striking and appealing things in my garden, though.

Aaron UK - Leicester is not very far climatically from London!

It seems it's not just the seeds that cause a problem, but the suckering habit. In practise, how easy is it to keep a clump down to one shoot only?

Ailanthus altissima

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Aaron_UK

moriati

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