Trees We Do Not Like

,

There are trees we do not like.
These are trees to take a hike.
One is called the Bradford Pear.
Please don’t plant it anywhere. -RA

Trees the dancin' tree.jpg

[sent via an e-mail, she’s a real beauty!]

The other day I added some quotes from past lectures including a quote about the nasty Bradford Pear. I then received a comment from Bill over at the Giant Duck Institute, about the Bradford pear and one of Bill’s favorite’s the Norway Maple, which got me to thinking.

What are the nasty trees that no one wants or should have in the landscape? So far we got 3, because I’m adding the good ‘ole sugar maple. So, so far:

  • Pyrus c. ‘Bradford’ the Bradford pear
  • Acer saccharinum L. the Sugar Silver(0000ps! my bad) Maple-is my pick, though I also have no love for the B. pear.
  • Acer platanoides L. the Norway maple-Bill from the Giant Duck Institute.

So let’s hear it! What are your picks and why. Just click on the comments link and add your choice. When we get up to 10 . . . if we get to 10 I’ll put up a page. That way they’ll be posted.

Here’s the Squidoo page where the list resides.

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Addendum on November 8th, 2007

This has become the number one post on this blog, my guess you are here because of a search engine hit on trees. here are a few more post that might interest you.

  • This post talks about voting for the worst tree, and a link to the Squidoo page where the link is.
  • “The Seven-Son Flower”(SSF), or Heptacodium miconiodes.
  • Talking about the World of Arborculture.
  • Looking to help an organization with reforestation, contact Trees for the Future, this post will fill you in on the organization.

254 responses to “Trees We Do Not Like”

  1. wow thats amazeing
    its just 1 of the 1,000,000,000,000,0000,000,000,000 amazeing things God gave us

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  2. ALL THIS TREE HATE MUST END!
    YOU SHOULD LOVE ALL TREES FOR THEIR BEAUTY AND ORGANIC SPIRTUALITY. PRAISE THE TREES!
    how sweetly do they grow and bloom watching us from their rooted stance.

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  3. Wow that tree looks like a ballerina practicing

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  4. where ever did you find that tree?!
    i must know!
    please tell me, i want to take more pictures for myself.
    i love it!

    Sorry, the photo was sent to me by a friend.

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  5. kimberly fathead Avatar
    kimberly fathead

    You sound like a bunch of fruitloops!!!!!!! I stumbled upon this while doing a project and couldn’t believe that wackjobs like you tree freaks really exist. I have to agree with anthony… please, do get laid… tree lovin’ doesn’t count

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  6. Box Elder

    these guys clog up a gutter all year long……they drop stringy things that go thru the gutter screen

    too hard to kill…..they grow everywhere you don’t need a tree…..you have to pull them out by the roots with a truck or tractor

    they grow at odd angles to get to the sun….we have 10 trees growing around an old silo base …all at a 40 degree angle

    they are weak…they are the first trees to blow over in a wind storm….we have a 25 foot tree blown over completely horizontal…it is now growing strait up from the 25 foot trunk

    the wood is junk….it doesn’t burn well and smells like bad pancakes

    box elder bugs…..even they don’t like the trees and have abandoned the trees for the side of our house

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  7. what did i just say?!!!!! i can’t believe you are continuing with this tree nonsense. seriously, go get a life!!!! i am trying to help you people. now go out and meet some women… or men if you have been regected by women.. but please.. stop it with the trees for gods sake

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  8. Ha, this tree looks like a ballerina. I think it’s beautiful.

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  9. Wow! what type of tree is that?!?!? its soo cool! it looks like one of those mythical spirits that live in the trees! how freaky! i LOVE IT! can you please tell me what type of tree that is, and whats the matter with the bradford pear? it looks really cool1!

    It’s a Locust, I can’t tell you with 100% certainty the cultivar.

    The Bradford . . . see answer in next comment.

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  10. where is it??? in europe where??

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  11. […] I did find a site that helpfully lists Trees We Do Not Like, along with this clever […]

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  12. *sigh* I have to say, I really like maples – but it is more because they generally grow limbs at the prefect height for climbing. At least, I find that to be true for the maples that have green leaves which do not change colors in fall.

    As for my least favorite: Black Poplar and other members of the cottonwood family. Now these trees are annoying. They produce sticky yellow winter buds, which wouldn’t be that bad, except they fall off and dye anything pale colored yellow and stick to everything. Not to mention, when they are cut down they smell terrible, almost as if they are taking a subtle sort of revenge. (These could be the type of tree one of the early posters was talking about… some varieties have heart/spade shaped leaves.)

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  13. Anthony, I see your point, but that comment was quite offensive nonetheless. I am aware that I am only fourteen, maybe not as experienced as some of you on here, but in my personal opinoin, trees are living creatures- maybe they can’t protest like we can at unfair treatment, but that doesn’t mean we can just cut them down without thought. What you just said came across as a statement with no other purpose than to force a reaction- and here you have it.

    Becca Reed, I couldn’t agree any more with your post.
    Grace, the comment was a little creepy, but I like it.
    And to Kim fathead, I’m not supposed to “get laid” at my age.

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  14. Rebecca Reed, I apologize for incorrectly posting your name.

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  15. Well, Mr. Bill, if we were having a conversation of “people we do not like”, would it seem appropriate to sit and list others we think look bad?

    Not to be rude, it’s just another way for you to look at it.

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  16. This tree looks like a lady dancing…going to the left and kicking up her right leg…see it?

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  17. I was just about to say that! 🙂

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  18. this is amzing
    it looks like a ballet dancer!!!!

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  19. this tree looks like a woman dancing, it’s so beautiful!

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  20. I realize that, more than likely, the tree in the picture above looks like a dancer to anyone who looks at her (I mean it). But I just had to make sure everyone else sees it too.

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  21. The dancing tree is making the email rounds. You can probably expect more hits on this entry because it comes up in a google search.

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  22. I can’t believe some of the trees picked as the worst. I rather like my Sweet Gum with its interesting star shaped leaf and red color in the fall. Sand Cherries add rich red color to a predominantly green lanscape. As far as the worst, how about a Hawthorn with its 1 to 2 inch claws that look like something the devil would plant. It will pierce through even a hard soled shoe giving its victim a nasty infection. They actually sell this thing at some nurseries! What about a Manitoba Maple which is not even a Maple at all. It grows wild in ditches and begins rotting from birth, making it much worse for breaking than any Silver Maple. These trees grow so fast that we see new plants each year all over the Ontario countryside. I could go on but I’ll leave with this: A well planned landscape can make many species of trees seem tolerant and trouble free. Give yourself enough room to accomodate the type of tree your planting and you’ll enjoy it for years to come.

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  23. how can anyone dislike cherry trees?! They are my absolute favorite! I must say that I’m not the biggest fan of apple trees however. There used to be one in my grandfathers backyard (in Brooklyn of all places) it would always leave all of these little apples about the size of golfballs. Ok, when we were kids, my cousins and I had a lot of fun trying to climb to the top and occasionally, when I was about 7 and my older cousin was being a jerk, I would throw an apple or nine in his direction and run away as fast as my little legs could go. We had so much fun and I can assure you that my cousin ALWAYS deserved it!!! But as we got older and apple fights were no longer accepted by the parents, the tree just kinda sit there until the wood rotted away so much where my grandfather had to either cut down the tree or risk having it fall into the house every time a breeze came along. I miss the tree but speaking as an adult I would absolutely hate having to clean up all of the apples, whaatever the pidgeons and stray cars left behind after they had enjoyed some apples, all the leaves left behind in the winter and constantly having to ice up an eye or two after a good apple war.

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  24. hahaha!! A Tree Grows In Brooklyn!! That haas to be the cutest childhood story Bridgette!! I personally love apple trees!!

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  25. Oliver Castledine Avatar
    Oliver Castledine

    This post is absolutley absurd.

    Who are you lot, the Horticultural Police? Whats the next post; Lets get a vigilanty tree group out in the night to cut down ‘offending’ trees?

    If this post was written by The Crane Institute founder, so called landscape designer, you should be ashamed of yourself.

    One mans weed is anothers ornamental, but in anycase, this part of cyberspace should be promoting the merits of trees, not bashing specific genus or species.

    When I began my career in Horticulture and design i fell for the trap of ‘scoffing’ at certain plants. I thought that bedding plants were vulgar and vowed that shrubs like Elaeagnus would never feature in my designs.

    Later, as my style relaxed and matured I realised that (although still not my taste) bedding stuffed into old pots, situated in a sunny cottage garden looked just perfect, and that the Elaeagnus was a superb backdrop shrub to a difficult site.

    For sure, some plants are not welcome in certain places; they may be a nuisance aesthetically, or environmentally. But bashing the whole species over one plants misdemeanour is riciculous, get a grip.

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