posted 3 hours ago
Around here the Squirrels and Birds plant a lot of Filberts and Cherries. Also volunteering frequently are: Maples, Cottonwoods, Ash, Cedar, Fir, Oak, Butternuts, Plums, Cherry-Laurel, Hawthorne, and Holly.
A lot of these die off on their own from the Summer dry season, unless they are randomly situated in good and protected spots. The stands of Brambles/Blackberries make for good protective chaperones for many of these volunteers.
If I find random trees growing in places that I am otherwise not tending much, I will usually leave them to do their work and improve the site with roots and leaf-drop. Though, with many of them, I have intentions of cutting them down before they get too large.
If they are in my highly tended zones, where they don't fit well into my particular plans, I will sometimes dig them up and pot them to plant elsewhere or give away - or cut them down. I don't know what my parameters are for choosing which to cull and which to pot up, or which to leave growing where they are.
If they are a fruit tree, I am always curious what they might yield, so I often let them grow so I can see if it is some great new variety.
Many of the others I consider useful for branch/leaf mulch sources (chop and drop), or for firewood, or other utility/craft purposes.
However, some trees just show up in the wrong place, and it is much easier to remove them when they are small. Close to building foundations, many trees' roots can wreak havoc too.
I will say in my situation I err on the side of leaving them to grow even if it makes more work for me later on.
And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.'
-Kurt Vonnegut