The Best Way To Get Rid Of Weed Trees Before They Take Over Your Yard

Sometimes called volunteer trees, weed trees pop up where you least want them to in your yard. Managing them can be frustrating, especially if they become invasive. Thankfully, there are easy tips to maintain a yard unencumbered by these pesky, wayward little trees. House Digest spoke exclusively with Peter Hansen, the co-owner and managing member for Sparrow Estate Management, to ask him about the best strategies for weed tree removal. The expert shares that the best way to get rid of weed trees is to pull them up by hand while they are young. 

When it comes to weed trees, Hansen warns that leaving them unchecked can be bad. He says, "They can outgrow and overshadow desired plants, causing them to die due to a lack of sunlight and resources." As they encroach on your property, he cautioned that they spread quickly, "creating a larger and harder-to-manage problem in a short amount of time." Before you know it, it'll be an expensive project to remove them.

The first sign of a weed tree is a seedling popping up in an odd, unusual spot in your garden or near fences. In an exclusive interview with House Digest, Hansen tells us there are several ways they get into your yard, "typically from seeds that blow into your yard or from underground root systems." It's easy to see how letting them grow can lead to big problems.

Hansen recommends removing the small trees when they are young and easy to pull out by hand. However, you should be as careful as possible to remove every piece of the plant you can see. Weed trees, according to Hansen, "can regrow from even a small piece of root left behind." A larger tree can be cut down and sprayed with targeted herbicide so it won't come back.

Whatever you do, Hansen says that you shouldn't cut down a tree "without addressing the roots." A surefire way to invite new growth is leaving the roots behind or letting the roots and stump of a weed tree go untreated. He also mentions that handheld tools are often ineffective and dangerous as a means to address large trees and their stumps.

Trying to get rid of weed trees can feel like a losing battle. While Hansen says that the best thing to do in the face of a takeover is to take out the tree as soon as possible, "making sure to get the root system," in an exclusive interview with House Digest, Hansen also shares how important it is to tackle all signs of new growth anywhere in your yard to stop the quickly spreading volunteer trees in their tracks.

However, if you've had trouble with them in the past and think you have an ongoing issue, it might be necessary to call in the professionals. Hansen advocates for professional guidance if your weed trees have gotten too big to be removed manually. It's especially urgent to call an expert if the tree is close to a power line or if it's a stubborn species, like the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima). According to Hansen, professionals know how to remove these types of trees "safely and effectively."