From birth we are taught to love trees (remember Joyce Kilmer). It is almost a sacrilege to "hate" a tree. But there are trees we don't like in certain settings; trees that excessively litter or that destroy sidewalks or that invade and overwhelm the entire forest. Many of these trees can still be beautiful and interesting and worth the effort to keep. It would take a really bad tree for you to consider for extermination and that you would not miss one bit if it were to become extinct tomorrow.

That's the tree I want you to select here. You may actually think no tree is bad...

I have listed 10 trees people are frequently telling me they need to get rid of! These trees are the most often mentioned and selected out of discussions with both the forestry savvy and the general population. It actually surprised me that the topic would stir such strong opinion. People love to loathe "bad" trees and are very opinionated about trees they don't like.

Please take the time to vote in this poll and select the most hated tree in North America...

• Tree Invasive Exotics - Trees That Make America's Least Wanted List
  
• 10 Good Trees Gone Bad - Reconsider Planting These Trees in Your Yard

Fields, pastures, forests, wetlands and waterways, natural areas, and right-of-ways are being invaded by trees of dubious distinction. Most are non-native trees and also referred to as exotic, alien, noxious, or non-indigenous invasive plants that are impacting native plant and animal communities by displacing native vegetation and disrupting plant and wildlife habitats.

Totally not cool!

Drawing on recent publications by the USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA APHIS PPQ and the Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council, a great web site covers identification characteristics, distribution, and control options for 14 trees that are invading the eastern United States. Invasive Plants of the Eastern United States: Identification and Control actually lists nearly 100 plants that are intent on changing our native plant communities. Here are 14 trees that Invasive.org feels are rapidly spreading out of control:

• Bradford Pear
• Brazilian Peppertree
• Chinaberrytree
• Melaleuca
• Mimosa
• Norway Maple
• Princesstree
• Paper Mulberry
• Russian Olive
• Sawtooth Oak
• Siberian Elm
• Tallow Tree
• Tree of Heaven
• White Mulberry

Tree sucker sprouts and watersprouts are vigorous, upright, epicormic shoots that grow from dormant buds on older wood. They are mostly a problem on fruit and landscape trees, can grow very large in one season and occur most often under stressful conditions like drought, after severe pruning and limb loss.

Both kinds of sprouts should be removed immediately while remembering that a watersprout can be used to develop a new main trunk if there is severe damage to the old trunk.  Watersprouts are easily pulled off.  Suckers are much harder to deal with as they are attached at or below ground level and should be removed with as much of the root or basal material as possible.

• Managing Tree Suckers and Watersprouts

You need to fertilize trees and shrubs to insure their good health which prepares them to fight off pests, disease, and environmental stresses. A proper fertilization program can't solve all tree problems and over fertilization can do harm. Still, tree fertilizing at the appropriate time and with the appropriate formulation will help your tree(s).

Ideally, growing trees should be fertilized throughout the year. The greatest amounts should be applied during the early spring and summer months. Right now is an excellent time to fertilize trees.

For young trees, good times to put out fertilizer is late March through early June, and while you are at it, proper mulching will aid in proper nutrient and water uptake. When a tree reaches the desired height you may decrease the fertilizer application to only once a year.

• How To Mulch a Tree
• Tree Fertilizing Basics