Thought it would be fun to have a new tree in my backyard, but read online that cottonwoods were a bit of a nuisance. Also, I live in residential neighborhood on a half acre plot, if size will be an issue.
by Infini-D
Thought it would be fun to have a new tree in my backyard, but read online that cottonwoods were a bit of a nuisance. Also, I live in residential neighborhood on a half acre plot, if size will be an issue.
by Infini-D
24 Comments
Just head’s up, you have to constantly clean your AC condenser if you plant cottonwoods. r/hvac hates this tree.
I personally like cottonwoods. I planted 25 of them 3 years ago! They do release a lot of “cotton” that germinates quite easily. Since you already have a volunteer, I’m guessing this will not be new to you.
They grow very quickly and so tend to have weak wood. If you plant it too close to a structure, you risk having limbs fall on it. Mine are planted plenty far away from structures. This can also cause them to become “misshapen”. I think it gives them character.
It’s a personal choice. But they are a native tree to the US and many people enjoy them.
No, trash landscape trees unless you have 10 acres.
If you can find a spot with enough space for a massive tree, yes transplant
I love trees, planted 15 on my 2.5 acre lot when we moved in adoption to what was there. Kill this tree immediately.
No. The roots are invasive, the limbs are weak, the trees grow to be HUGE, they are messy (always dropping things), and they sucker constantly via rhizomes once established. They are beautiful in open fields, but should not be planted near homes, imo.
If you have a huge property, yes. Plant it far from your house since they grow enormous and can fall over and/or stick their roots where you don’t want them.
Nuke from orbit.
I hate cottonwood… the mess they make and they kill allergies.
If you wait until spring I will be happy to send you a metric ton of seeds for free! 🤣
I have a cottonwood thats nearly 100 feet tall in my yard and I despise it. Cotton everywhere early Summer. When the cotton pod clumps get wet in the rain and then dry out, they adhere to whatever they’re touching like superglue.
These things love dropping huge branches as well. After a thunderstorm, I’m usually picking up at least a half dozen branches. The wonderful thing is when a big one lands on something in your yard you cared about like a potted plant or lawn ornament. I recently had one land on my bird feeder and rip the perch right off it.
I don’t even find that it provides good shade and I find the shape of the tree to be ugly. Its tall and lanky, with twisty contorted branches that look like its being tortured. The branches dont shoot out too far and they arent bushy because they’re so brittle.
I let it live because it was here before I moved in, so the way I see it the land belongs more to the tree than it does to me. But if lightning happened to hit it and knock it down I wouldn’t be upset.
I would say hell yeah It looks cute and mighty healthy
I had a cottonwood up against my fence out back. It grew fast over 13-ish years. Leaves and cotton weren’t too terrible, it wasn’t a massive tree.
One wind storm it blew over, it snapped just below ground level. It was around 14” inches diameter. I didn’t have a chainsaw, so it was a bigger to cut up. The shoots were an annual battle. 🤷♂️
Kill it with fire
Total shit trees. Invasive and messy and they smell terrible when cutting any of the wood.
I’d say no. They’re not particularly unique or striking and they are a pain in many situations. If you have a forested area (read: woodlot) by your house maybe sure…but if it’s suitable for cottonwoods, they’re already in there anyway. Personally I like them in habitat, but I don’t need one in my yard.
Now, if you are a developer and want something fast growing and aggravating to your neighbors but aren’t ready to use a Bradford Pear for the job, this cottonwood might fit the bill without stinking so bad.
I truly hate these things. Pull it and compost it.
Please do not plant this anywhere near structures. They do not belong in neighborhoods. 3 houses away from me has one, and it almost took out their next-door neighbor’s house with no warning and no winds.
I’ve got one, I enjoy it. But mine doesn’t put out cotton, so I get why people don’t like ones that do. The leaf-noise is my favorite part, lovely sounding trees.
They’re a dime a dozen…
Yes definitely, I’d wait till fall to move it though if possible. If not plant it right away and baby it.
Trees also lower your utility cost. Granted it will take a few years but eventually it will lower cooling and heating costs. It will also slowly rebuild or bolster your soil life. And if your lucky will give you hundreds of thousands of seedlings/ and saplings for decades to come that you can give to others. Or will feed hungry wildlife.
You may need 60 feet of available space for it. [https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/populus-deltoides/](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/populus-deltoides/)
Yes just not right near a structure