Hi all, I have this tree/weed in my backyard in Edmonton. Some people say it's a big weed, others say it's a (young) popular tree. What ever it is, it was not planted by me, and came up over the past few years. It's about 10ft tall, and it's kind of shaped like a weed, but the trunk looks like real wood (about 3 inches in diameter). But, the stems look like weed stems to me, but I'm no expert. Please help ID this thing. If it is a popular tree, can I move it to another location in the fall? I have a sunny spot I'd like to move it, but it's a bit dry there as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Here are some more photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/wkhan7/WhatIsThisTree?authkey=Gv1sRgCM-a8fXE4KjkzwE&feat=directlink Thanks in advance! Will
OK, so I will take it that it is a box elder (or relative). From what I've read on the internet, this is not the kind of tree you want in your back yard (attracts pests like stink bugs, short life, unattractive, dirty, brittle wood, etc.) Now, I also read that it is hard to kill. People on the internet mentioned that when they chop it down, a new sprout grows out of the stump and roots. Someone did mention, however, that if you drill a hole in the stump and fill it with salt and water it, then that would kill it. Any thoughts or comments? Thanks again for your help. Will
That's what I used to do to kill Manitoba maples in my backyard when I lived in Edmonton. I had a particularly pernicious patch, and nothing touched it until I drilled out the stems and salted them.
Box elder is an accepted common name for the Acer negundo in these parts Micheal, although I prefer to use the botanical names to keep things simple. :)
So it means it is indeed a box elder. I checked out the following sources: http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/acne.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_negundo http://www.cnr.vt.edu/DENDRO/DENDROLOGY/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=3 http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/Acer/negundo.htm http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/acer_negundo.html http://hort.ufl.edu/trees/ACENEGA.pdf http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?1170 Thanks, Will
Poplars don't produce divided leaves, so it wouldn't have been a poplar for that reason right at the start.
