Trees can enhance any yard, offering shade, aesthetic appeal, and a home for wildlife. However, not all trees are suitable for your garden space. Some species can cause trouble with invasive roots or aggressive growth. In this article, we’ll share 15 trees to avoid planting in your yard to prevent future problems.
Silver Maple
Silver Maple trees are known for their silvery leaves and fast growth but are not great for residential yards. These trees, native to eastern and central North America, can be pretty invasive. They spread aggressively through seeds and suckers, which can outcompete other plants and mess up your garden’s diversity. Moreover, Silver Maples tend to have weak wood and multiple trunks, which makes them prone to breakage. They also attract pests, which can further weaken the tree.
Weeping Willows
Weeping Willows look graceful with arching branches, but they’re unsuitable for your yard. Their roots tend to invade and damage water pipes and septic systems. These trees are unsuitable for small spaces as they require a lot of water and can become overcrowded quickly. Their branches can become brittle and break easily, which can be risky during storms.
Paper Birch
Paper Birch is a rustic, elegant tree, often planted in groups to enhance landscapes. Unfortunately, it’s not ideal for modern gardens. These trees drop large amounts of leaves, branches, catkins, and seeds, making them messy, especially around pools or high-traffic areas. They thrive in cold climates but often look sickly in hotter, drier conditions. They are also vulnerable to insects like bronze birch borers and forest tent caterpillars, which can damage and eventually kill the trees.
Mimosa
Mimosa may look attractive with its fern-like leaves and pink flowers, but planting it can lead to more problems than it’s worth. This tree is highly invasive, spreading quickly through seeds and root suckers, which can outcompete native plants and disrupt local ecosystems. Once established, it’s tough to eradicate. Mimosa trees can also attract pests and diseases, and their shallow roots can damage sidewalks, driveways, and foundations. They create dense shade that stifles other plants, and their messy seed pods require constant clean-up.
Mulberry
Keep Mulberry trees away from your yard. Their fruit, while edible, is bland and stains everything it touches, creating a mess on driveways, patios, and walkways. Birds love the fruit but leave droppings everywhere. These trees produce excessive pollen, which can trigger allergies, and their roots can damage underground pipes. Mulberries grow quickly from seeds, so you’ll have to do a lot of weeding.
Black Walnut
Black Walnut trees might provide excellent shade, but they have several downsides. They drop messy walnut husks that can cause digestive issues for pets. More importantly, their roots produce a chemical called juglone, which kills off nearby plants, making it hard for anything else to grow around them, even lawn grass. If you want a thriving, diverse garden, it’s best to avoid planting Black Walnut trees.
Chinese Empress Tree
While it might seem appealing with its rapid growth and pretty purple flowers, the Chinese Empress Tree can become a real headache in your garden. This tree grows incredibly fast, up to 20 feet in its first year, and produces millions of seeds that can quickly spread. Its extensive root system can cause property damage and is very hard to remove once established. The dense shade it creates can hinder other plants’ growth.
Bradford Pear
Bradford Pear trees and their beautiful white blossoms might look appealing, but they come with a lot of issues. These trees are invasive, and they spread quickly and taking over your yard. Their flowers smell unappealingly fishy. Their weak branches are a nightmare during storms, breaking off and causing constant clean-up. Their dense shade makes it hard for other plants to grow, leaving your garden sparse.
Ash
Ash trees are beautiful and robust, with unique leaves and interesting bark, but they’re facing a big problem with the emerald ash borer. This pest can kill the trees unless treated with insecticide every few years, which is a hassle. If you’re thinking about planting one, be cautious—they’re prone to pests and diseases, and their wood can rot, making them a potential hazard in your yard.
Red Oaks
Red Oaks are attractive trees that are often planted for their ornamental value. However, they drop large leaves and acorns in the fall, which can even dent your car if they fall from a great height. They’re also messy in the spring, shedding massive amounts of catkins composed of tiny flowers. While some people love their shape and appearance enough to tolerate the mess, consider other tree species if the debris bothers you. They are also vulnerable to a fungal disease called oak wilt.
Quaking Aspen
It’s best to appreciate Quaking Aspens from a distance, enjoying their beauty in natural alpine settings. Their roots spread aggressively when planted in your yard, leading to overpopulation and turning your garden into a dense forest. These trees can quickly take control, making maintenance a nightmare, especially in small yards or near neighboring properties. Additionally, they’re prone to fungal diseases, which can make them less attractive over time.
Russian olive
Avoid planting Russian olive trees for the sake of your garden’s health and biodiversity. These trees are highly invasive and aggressive. Once they take root, they’re extremely tough to eliminate. Despite their thorny branches and fast growth, they can quickly dominate areas, reducing biodiversity by outcompeting native species like cottonwood and willow. They also alter natural flooding patterns and can make wildlife forage inaccessible.
Sweetgum
Sweetgum trees are stunning in the fall, with leaves turning brilliant shades of scarlet, yellow, orange, and purple. While sweetgum trees are visually appealing, their practical drawbacks can make them troublesome for residential yards. Their large surface roots can damage home foundations, lawns, pools, patios, and other structures. They also produce spiky seed pods, often called gumballs or stickerballs, which create a mess and can be painful if stepped on. These pods are a hassle to clean up, and their presence can make walking around the yard or patio risky.
Tree of Heaven
The Tree of Heaven might sound divine, but it’s far from heavenly for your yard. This highly invasive tree spreads rapidly through numerous seeds and is a nightmare to remove once it takes root. It drops many seeds, creating a mess, and releases allelopathic chemicals from its leaves, roots, and bark that kill neighboring plants. This aggressive behavior disrupts local ecosystems and stifles other vegetation.
Ginkgo
If you’re considering a ginkgo tree, plant a male cultivar. Female ginkgo trees produce foul-smelling fruits that create a mess in your yard. Even male ginkgo trees can grow up to 80 feet tall and need plenty of space. They have a unique leaf drop pattern, shedding all at once, which can be challenging to clean up. Male trees also produce significant pollen, potentially triggering allergies.