Removing tree-of-heaven from hardwood stands

The tree-of-heaven (Alianthus altissima) is a fast growing tree that invades common hardwood forests. They come from Asia and rapidly scatter throughout the US. This is due to rapidly scattering seeds and early production of these seeds relative to hardwood. They are a problem to forestry since they occupy space that are dedicated to hardwood. As such, scouting the forest for tree-of-heaven is important and killing them is the best way to deal with them. Eliminating tree-of-heaven is more effective with the help of herbicides since they must be cut from the roots. If the tree-of-heaven is small, it can be treated using foliar applications at recommended rates of common chemicals while trees of about 4-6 inches in diameter can be killed with basal bark applications of Garlon 4.