Replanting over ailanthus altissima

Hello!

I live in the high desert of New Mexico (7a), and am in the process of removing a growth of ailanthus (Tree of Heaven), with suckers extending for probably 1,000 square feet. It doesn't seem to have killed the rose bushes, coyote melon, or a juniper shrub. I wouldn't mind more juniper, but don't want more coyote melon, since it smells terrible. I tried looking up suggestions for other plants that might be able to live in its root zone, but everything that came up was just reports of how invasive it is.

Does anyone have suggestions for low water plants that might do well there, and not be adversely affected by the toxins from this tree?

Your coyote melon is a relative to our buffalo melon.  I knew what you were talking about when you said "it smells terrible". I couldn't remember the name because I call it stinky melon.

They have a huge root but it is possible to get rid of them if you work at it really hard.

I really don't know what can handle the toxins of the Tree of Heaven as I have never seen one.  What native plants do you see in your local area near those trees other than the ones you mentioned?

Have you tried rosemary?  It is a really nice shrub and I don't water mine once it was established.  It smells wonderful. It is not the cute little kitchen herb unless it is regularly severely trimmed.  My bush is about 4' x 4'.  I am zone 8a/b.

This thread talks about the "tree of heaven" growing with hackberry, fig, olive, and again I know nothing about those trees.

https://permies.com/t/121453/Cover-crop-advice-project-Sicily#978075

Thanks for the suggestions Anne! I'll have to pay closer attention to what's growing with the Tree of Heaven around here; it's along a lot of the roads, and especially with a lot of junipers, but other things as well.

Rosemary and lavender do great here, and I definitely want some. At my previous house, there were several of both that had been neglected for at least a year, and were still alive; the ones at the botanical garden are huge.

I think it's too cold here for fig and olive (7a). Hackberry sounds interesting -- I enjoy having things for the migrating birds to eat. Mulberry grows well here and seems really tough, so I could give it a try and see what happens too. I'm thinking about trying some tough trees with big taproots like mesquite or locust, too.

There are hardy fig varieties. I recommend Chicago Hardy. It should do fine in your zone. It may die back to the ground in a very hard winter, but it will come back in spring.

J Youngman, good to know, thanks. I didn't realize cold hardy fig trees existed, and would like to try planting one sometime, once I've got my water situation better sorted out.

Hi Irene,
When I bought my property 10 years ago the yard had lots of the horrible 'Chinese trees of heaven' growing here. It's invading most of Arizona. The place had been rented out for decades and no one took care of the property. I had about a dozen big patches of it (10-15 trees each that were 8-10 feet tall) and lots of individual trees all over the place. I've dug out and killed almost all of it and planted lots of pretty stuff.

I know that it's invasive because it grows so fast and it sends out lots of runners which lets more trees pop up and which exude a toxin to kill other plants.  But it's 'super invasive' because it goes to seed every year and each tree sheds many, many thousands of seeds at once. An empty lot down the street only had a few 'stink trees' in it 10 years ago and now it has hundreds! The trees just end up crowding out all the other growth and killing it. I think the seeds are the really big problem.

I don't think the toxins are nearly as terrible. So, these are some of the other plants that were growing here with it at that time.....Junipers and pines, rosemary, fig trees, manzanitas, lilacs, cactus, lady banks roses, iris,  pyracantha, bamboo and a peach tree struggling to survive. They were all doing fairly well in spite of the 'stink tree'. But seeing how fast new trees were springing up I think they would simply have been crowded out soon and died.

Hope this helps.

Unsure about the toxins, I'm sorry to say, but wondering if manzanita or mesquite might do, in your area? I know they grow in NM, but not sure at your particular altitude, you know?

Also, possibly a wild grape vine of some kind?  I know that in my area (Arizona), you'll commonly find some of our native grape vines growing next to our native walnut, and I know our walnut trees are also considered to be allelopathic, so the grapes might do well dealing with toxins, possibly? From what I recall, the native grapes around here are edible, but the seeds, not so much.

Also, perhaps a good prickly pear cactus, or other cacti that bears fruit in your area? Or some good yucca?

Debbie Ann: Yeah, they seem hugely invasive. I don't usually poison things, but I'm poisoning this one. That's good to hear that the toxin isn't so bad for growing other things, and you were able to plant over it once it was gone.

Shauna: I can definitely try some grapes -- there are already about 5 rebars driven into the ground in that spot, with pretty good spacing for staking grape vines, as long as their roots can compete with what I'm sure is a great underground mess, with not only the suckers, but also the coyote melon, known to have 100lb tuber roots.

We have probably 20 wild yucca, and they're great -- I want to add a tree yucca too, and more prickly pear. I assume we have yucca months, since there are wild ones growing here. But this particular section is on the inside of the flood irrigation zone (whenever I manage to get that flowing), whereas it seems like it would make more sense for the cacti and yucca to be on the outside.

From what I've seen, mesquite can grow here, but it's a bit of a border area for them, and they don't prefer it. A bit on the cold side, getting down to 0 in the foothills where I am. I'm from Tucson, and miss the mesquites, they're lacier than anything common here, but don't want to have to cover it when it gets especially cold. People seem to mostly plant locusts -- there are a ton of purple robe locusts around town. I think I should try planting some locusts as well, they seem to fill a similar role of nitrogen fixing tree.

We have a row of about 20 Ailanthus altissima trees growing in the back of our yard along the fence line and it's been there for at least 10 years. Edibles (annuals & perennials) that survive nearby include:

1. Prunus species (peaches, nectarines, etc)
2. Rubus species (rasberries, roses, etc)
3. Grapevines
4. Brassicas (during the dormant winter period but I think the allelopathic properties of AA will still remain in the soil)
5. Rosemary
6. Schinus molle (pink peppercorn tree)
7. Opuntia ficus indica
8. Mytillocactus
9. Sow thistle
10. Hook weed (cleavers)
11. Chickweed
12. Figs
13. Chinese elm tree (seeds are leaves are edible though not very palatable)

Hope that helps!

I’m in 7b and I think I’m posting just because I’m so excited that my 2 figs have fruited this year (coming from Seattle 8b where it was never hot enough to fruit).  My two varieties are Chicago Hardy and Kamchatka, which sound far colder than here, they’re unprotected, and not against a wall, but kept small.  Now that they’ve proven their worth they might get a winter wrap.   Which I suspect will just make a home for rodents who will chew the bark.  Sigh.

So figs might work for you too.