This pollen/sap mixture can actually be sticky enough to rip apart a windshield wiper blade if you accidentally turn on the wipers before scraping the glass! But what if you really want to grow a pine? Photo by HQ Lightroom Presets on Unsplash. I was amazed to hear that oaks are the most likely to be struck by lightning. . I am killing off about 1000 of those seedlings every year. Don't forget to watch for the worms. If you hate extra lawn care as much as I do, then here are five specimens you may want to avoid. Apply it along window tracks and other points of entry. Really, I bought the property for the beautiful, gigantic, mature trees, which include 1 catalpa, 1 pecan, 1 mimosa, and 3 texas umbrellas. . Love the information about messy trees! All trees have their pros and cons. . Thanks for sharing this information. No. But pecans don't fall off the tree looking like the un-shelled versions you buy at the store for the holidays. . I had a liquidamber tree in my back yard and it was awful. I guess they like the warmer climates. Problem : This is a Dutch Elm Disease resistant tree, drought tolerant, and resistant to Elm Yellows and the Elm Leaf Beetle. There aren’t a lot of negatives when it comes to lacebark … In fall or after a drought, one or two trees can completely bury a yard in gigantic brown leaves. And those sweet, white flowers? No wonder they're the worst in the messy tree department. Those globular seed balls yield yet another common name: "buttonball trees.". Nancy Yager from Hamburg, New York on October 17, 2012: Great pictures you used as examples of these trees. Aphids are tiny insects that insert their straw-like mouthparts into the tree to drink the sap. One lovely old pecan tree that I know all too well once produced over 100 pounds of shelled pecans one season. Relentlessly. and the above-mentioned slips and falls. Now I have an oak tree that can drop a tree-sized limb if someone sneezes inside the house. They also deposit an absolutely incredible tonnage of leaves, and not just a few at a time. Unlike locust trees (see above), the messiness of northern catalpa is not relegated to its bean-like pods. Jayme Kinsey (author) from Oklahoma on June 15, 2014: @moofish. If you want to keep any nice enough to eat, you will have to string bird-netting under and make a hobby of it, but who can eat hundreds of plums, anyway? but you won't have much time to go fishing if you have one or two of these trees. Choices for hypoallergenic trees include: American Sweetgum. Its large leaves add to the litter. I rated it up and am sharing. I hate them!!!!! They poop out honeydew, which falls as tiny, sticky droplets, making a mess of any cars, buildings, or decks below. I can testify to the oak shedding twigs and small branches. You can't rake it or blow it and it clogs the lawnmower when you try to mow the lawn. 8 total hours splitting. For years we had very large, old oaks that rarely lost a twig during high winds. I never suspected. The elm tree’s large, broad canopy and interweaved drooping branches grace the streets of many towns and landscapes. I saw a yard once that was bordered by 12 sweet gum trees. Planted them for shade over my patio behind my garage. What makes Bradford pear one of the worst trees to grow in your yard is not the mess that it creates but, rather, its weak branches. You didn't want to mow over too many of them, because they would congeal under the mower and create a mess. Spray the sweet gums with a growth regulator (Florel for one) in the spring when they are flowering. I could not stand the thing. But if these habits seriously bother you, you'll have to look for another tree species entirely, since all the oaks produce acorns and flower catkins of some type. Here are six monsters you should never, ever plant in a residential neighborhood, lest you earn your neighbor's hatred and Grumpy's scorn. 3 total hours stacking. Is there a way to stop Crepe Myrtles from blooming and making a huge mess on my patio? The tree will also benefit from the extra water to replace what aphids take. First they drop their leaves, then the seed pods which are inside what appears to be a cross between a leaf and a flower petal. The third was a sweet gum in front yard by drive way, well after I stepped on one of the darn hard balls and turned my ankle going to my car. Finally the last insult....pine cones all winter. Good garden centers may not even carry the female trees in their stock. To take down and cut up and grind trunk. The sweet gum tree is often planted as an ornamental tree. . and recommend that you don't either, unless you are a glutton for punishment... and these trees WILL punish you. This tree stands 10 to 12 feet high, with a slightly greater spread. Large pecan branch on the garage roof. Jayme Kinsey (author) from Oklahoma on October 15, 2012: Thank you, Les Trois Chenes for the great comment. These leaves are small, and will easily clog gutters. I love seeing them far away, in other people's yards! I had never seen the little ones before with the petite blossoms. This tree is insidious. The ginkgo has much to recommend it, including resistance to pests, diseases, and urban pollution, so its recommended that you go ahead and plant it—just avoid the female plants. They offer us shade and sometimes fruit in the summer and windbreaks in the winter. The stately elm tree is a beloved American treasure. And the lemon--a tree from hell, with 3" thorns everywhere and hundreds of pounds of lemons that fall like bombs and break any plants beneath them. Denise Handlon from North Carolina on October 15, 2012: Hi Sharkye11-I just added your hub to my Tree hub. Gum balls may sound appetizing, but in reality, they are neither sweet nor edible. I was glad to leave the magnolias behind, for sure. I do know we never had to gather kindling wood for the winter because it was always available just outside the door. They are hard, brown, spiky balls that can create some serious hazards. But there is a problem with many types: The flattened seed pods are a bother to rake up. Lacebark or Chinese elms offer unusual mottled bark, small leaves, and good resistance to both Dutch elm disease and elm leaf beetle. The trees began dying from Dutch elm disease (DED), which is thought to have arrived in the U.S. with a shipment of elm veneer logs from Europe. Whenever you see the cultivar name, 'Nana,' you know you're dealing with a dwarf. Like magnolia cones, the balls don't break down easily in compost or a rubbish pile. Bill Holland from Olympia, WA on October 13, 2012: Love this and your sense of humor! But it is only the males that you have to worry about because it is the male of the species that produces pollen. Trunks on older trees could reach to seven feet across. Where there are neighbors to clean up... you will find 20 - 50 bags of these balls out for waste pickup. . So how could a pecan tree be bad? Because lurking under that innocent carpet lay the dreaded magnolia cones.