PlantFiles: Chinese Tallow Tree, Candleberry Tree, Chicken Tree, Popcorn Tree, Florida Aspen
Triadica sebifera

Beautiful fall color, fast growing, shaded the house and front path -- I thought I had a winner. Wrong. The roots lifted and cracked the concrete path. They went completely under the garage and driveway. I had the tree removed and, supposedly, the roots were ground. Within a month I had a forest sprouting across the front yard and even on the other side of the garage. The tree service came back and ground more roots (as well as my sprinkler system). Now there are even more sprouts. These aren't seedlings -- they are coming from roots, some of which are as big around as my arm.

What can I do? Even as the sprouts wilt from a dose of Roundup or brush killer, new growth is appearing from beneath the dying leaves. Is there any way to get rid of this monster???

This is a trash tree in South Louisiana they are everywhere. So I suggest don't plant them because you will never get rid of them!

BE WARNED!!!!! Last year my husband was cutting this tree down, wiped his brow with the back of his gloves, and we ended up in the emergency room. The milky sap from the tree (transported by his gloves) ended up in his eyes and he was in terrible pain for 2 days with intense burning. The emergency room was not familiar with treatment for Chinese Tallow contamination, therefore Poison Control was contacted. This substance can cause eye damage and possibly PERMANENT BLINDNESS!!!!!!

Thank goodness he recovered fully, but we will never have a tallow tree again!!!!

I had this tree in my yard here in Sacramento and finally removed it. It grew into a 60ft. tall mutant with a trunk 3 1/2ft. in diameter. It throws stamins all over in the spring, hard sharp seed husks in the fall and white rock hard nuts in the winter- an absolutely messy trashy tree and that's the good part. It has heaved my mow strips and patio with its surface running roots and pops up suckers every where there's a root, it broke my irrigation system too. I tried to kill it by girdling, but alas to no avail, I bored ten 2" holes at a 45 degree angle around the circumference of the trunk and poured straight Roundup into them- no luck. Finally poured staight ammonia in the holes and that killed the crown. WATCH OUT for the odor and sap from this evil tree, it made my nose and sinus' bleed. Scratches on my skin obtained while cutting down and removing this vile beast became irritated, itchy and inflamed. Other than these minor annoyances it's a great tree. Now if I can kill the stump and roots... Enjoy!

Okay this is a beautiful trash tree that is taking over.
The seeds are oil -bio diesel, the wood fuel for fire, the job of harvesting, cutting etc more jobs here in the USA.

just my thots

I have many names for this "trash" tree, none of which I can say here. The only good thing about it is the nice fall color it gets. You cannot drive anywhere in my town without seeing forests of these in every field. The field behind our house had tons of them, and when they started to develop the area, the trees were cut down. Unfortunately, this caused millions of offshoots to creep up in our backyard. Huge runners with thick trunks along the ground have fromed everywhere, and even 15 years later we are still having to cut the little trees down. AAAAAHHHH

We have one that is about 3 1/2 years old & I love how it looks, it makes a good shade, very fast growing tree,pretty fall colors. I don't know anything about the blooming yet b/c it's not old enough. My husband transplated it from his fathers yard to ours b/c I had always loved how they looked,we have had a great experience with it!

I live in an area of Houston where about a fourth of the yards have very large and old trees of this species. They are so beautiful that I wanted one for my own yard and searched all the vacant lots and alleys and rights of way for a volunteer. I finally found one on a vacant lot which I know to have been vacant for 15 years. There were no suckers anywhere, none coming up from seed. However, I have pulled up thousands of ash trees from my pots, beds and lawn. I lived in Dallas before I moved here and the ash tree in the front yard took all the water from the lawn and water as much as I did, it only served the tree. This ash tree also broke the side walk and oak trees thru out my neighborhood now, break the side walk. Is the objection to this tree that it is non native? We have many live oaks in our neighborhood and they are beautiful and tear up the side walks but this tree is beautiful too. I think maybe those of you who hate it so much must live in an area that is much more hospitable to its growth than where I live.

We have a very old Chinese tallow in our backyard. Over the years we have seen a proliferation of this tree the likes of which we've never seen before. We can drive many roads/ freeways around the Deer Park, LaPorte, Pasadena area and see miles of this tree have taken over and drowned out other native species of tree. I recently did a google search of it and was not surprised to find so many others feel the same way. I simply cannot understand the love for this tree even if it is considered beautiful-it spits things off all year round, clogging up our rain gutter system like crazy and constantly requiring upkeep to maintain the thousands upon thousands of its attempts to create more. If we were ever to buy another house and it had one of these, the very first thing we'd do is get rid of it. I feel so strongly about this I felt compelled to register to this website just so I could share our opinions on this particular tree with everyone I could. This tree has and will continue to have a very negative impact on our environment, both in small ways and in very large influential ways. I am asking everyone to please steer clear of it and stick with native plants/trees.

I just moved into a new house, and while investigating the yard found a beautiful American Beauty bush that a huge tallow tree was busily choking. We start cutting down this weekend!

When planting trees on my property in So. Orange County, CA, I wanted an East Coast feel (fall color in trees). The tallow tree seemed to fill the bill, and one was planted about ten years ago in a large planter next to the driveway. Last year, I noticed that the brickwork adjacent to this planter was rising at the point close to the tallow tree. I had found the tree to be very messy and also had a lot of dead wood. The final straw came when my sprinkler system was damaged by roots from this tree. It was cut down in February, 2007, and the surrounding roots to 5' out removed. Since then, the entire planter sprinkler system has gone out, and I have spent the past 6 months removing roots that were as large in diameter as the tree trunk itself! Yesterday, I noticed that two new trees were coming up about 30' from the planter! The thought of digging up the entire yard is very daunting. We even sprayed root killer in the leftover roots to no avail. Absolutely DO NOT plant this tree, unless you have a fondness for digging up your yard!

We live in Sacramento and dearly love this tree. We needed shade from the west exposure and it has done the trick. It most certainly has not invaded our yard, we have no lawn in the area where it is planted, more of an English garden affect. The one thing we have noticed is that in past years the tree has been very dense and sunlight has not come through. This year there is quite a bit of dead wood in the tree and it is not as dense as previous years. Is there something we can do - should we prune it? I am going to have all the dead wood removed but I would like to know what to do to keep this from happening again in the future. Does it need to be fertilized? Help.

A tree you don't want on your property. Even if you control the seedlings near the tree you can't control the seeds the birds transport. A little research on what this tree has done and you won't be bragging about owning one. This tree is about as welcome as fireants in the southeast.

Chinese Tallow Tree, Candleberry Tree, Chicken Tree, Popcorn Tree, Florida Aspen Triadica sebifera is naturalized in Texas and other States and is considered an invaive and noxious in Texas.

The absolute worst thing that ever happened to the ancient Katy Prairie of Texas.

We have had these trees growing in our backyard here in New Orleans for well over 30 years. We have never had any of the multiple seedlings grow to any real height because when the yard is mowed the seedlings are cut down and do not grow back for that season. In other words they are easy to control. Some seedlings I do pull out by hand when they are very little, but the have never "taken over" our yard because we mow it. There is a new seedling that is now about 3 feet tall which came up along the fence about 10 feet from the parent tree. Since hurricane katrina we lost most of our trees around the house. The tallow trees did not get killed in the flood which I am very happy about.So I now intend to allow 2 of the young trees to grow on opposite sides of the backyard and replace the shade trees that I miss so much. At least we still have the tallow trees that I love so much. And the new ones will grow fast. Sometimes a little effort is needed when controling things in the yard. To me these beautiful trees are well worth a little effort. The fall colors are gorgeous. I would never dream of cutting them down.

Kill it quick before it multiplies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is one of those plants that are probably some sort of terrroist plot. I think people who don't like America must have sent this plant over here so we would be so focused on trying to eracicate or at least control it, that we would lose sight of other things and our country would collapse from within while we were occupied with this beast.

Seriously, though, it is a nasty invasive plant that will take over your yard...and your neighbor's yard while it is at it....and since it can reproduce by putting up new growth from the roots, it is almost impossible to get rid of. True, the leaves are very pretty. In an area where we have very little leaf change in the Fall/winter, it provides northern transplants with some foliage to 'ooh' and 'aah' over. But it is not worth it. Besides, the hulls that cover the waxy white seeds are sharp, and for those of us who grew up barefoot and never quite outgrew the habit, it is a real pain...literally!

An invasive species that is capable of forming pure stands, crowding out native vegetation. This tree has invaded isolated riparian areas in central California. The litter may be toxic to fish.
One was planted in my yard when I bought my house. Volunteer seedlings come up everywhere. I'm worried about the health of my fish in a water feature subjected to this tree's litter. Will sucker profusely from disturbed roots. Reportedly difficult to kill after cutting down.
Too bad; the tree has grown nicely, is pretty in leaf, good fall color, nice shape in winter.
I PLAN ON CUTTING MINE DOWN. I don't want to contribute to an invasives problem in my nearby riparian areas (which are already overrun by the obnoxious Himalayan blackberry).

Don't plant this tree in California!!!

the tree came up from seed beside the fence joining my neighbor's yard. After it had gotten very large and a real nuisance, he cut it down to the top of the fence. Sprouts continue to come from the trunk ( very thick). We have been trying to find a way to get rid of it. It is hard to get to from the neighbor's yard due to other plants that have grown in front of it. I was told recently that if I clip each sprout and spray full strength round up (do not dilute) it will prevent the sprouts from returning. I will start on this tomorrow. My brother has two trees in his yard, he likes them, my sister in law hates them. I have pulled up many seedlings.

Nocturnal flying squirels will feed on the Tallow's seeds. Very neat to watch.

I have made girdle cuts to many of these trees in the woods with a chainsaw and then sprayed full strenth brush-b-gone in the cuts and they are still trying to come back. They will even sucker from the roots. Everyone I mention this tree to hates it also. However, nobody has any idea that it's from china. They just think its a native "popcorn" tree because there is so many of them around.

Every measure should be taken to totally ERADICATE this tree from Florida.

Granted, these trees are beautiful in the Fall. The colors change gradually and put on a show. When I planted mine I was told I would be sorry. Well, I AM SORRY
NOW but it is too late! These plants are very invasive and difficult to remove once established. Beware---do not plant this tree or YOU will be sorry!!!

If I could give this tree a million negatives I would. Yes, it is pretty, that is why people allow it to continue its invasive nature and don't care what the consequences are. I have gone into small patches of forests in the south where the understory was taken over by "popcorn trees," especially near riversides. They are not as pretty in the spring as native flowering dogwoods, redbuds, azaleas, and other naturally occurring species. As an owner of 5 acres, I have to battle these invasive species constantly (and in neighboring wooded areas I am losing.) I'd rather have my neighbors throw dead fish in my yard than plant these trees.

Attention fellow gardeners!

The reason why you may not notice any seedlings popping up in your yard is because they are popping up miles away from the tree instead. With some invasive species, all it takes is a little wind to disperse seeds but with this one, birds and animals carry the seeds a considerable distance from your yard. That's precisely why this tree has become a problem and if you have one, every day you wait until cutting it down is another day it's causing damage to the ecosystem.

The fall color is lovely, for sure. Even down here in Florida. But there are other alternatives that grow fast, provide fall color and any other benefit you think the chinese tallow can offer.

I have always loved the popcorn tree and I yearned to have one in my yard. Me and my husband found a beautifully shaped one in the woods close to our house so we dug it out and brought it home. We had to snap the taproot in half due to the length of it (VERY LONG!!) We planted it in the corner of our yard and at first, I thought it may not survive. All of the leaves fell off and it looked pretty pitiful. But, it survived and it is so pretty. I love the branching on this tree. We live in a neighborhood where there are hardly no trees. We wanted some shade in our yard and since the popcorn tree is a fast grower, it was no time before we had shade. We have had the tree for around 3 years. The tree itself is about 4 1/2 years old. I have only found 5 seedlings in our yard. I'm sure that as time goes by and the tree gets older and bigger, we will find more, but they are so easy to pull from the ground. My husband mowed over 2 of them. The birds love this tree. I am wanting to plant one in our front yard about 7 - 8 feet from our house. Does anyone know if the root system can damage the foundation and or sewer system?
Hope this has been helpful!!!

Alas, we cut down our beautifully shaped tallow tree today. It was planted in a flower bed, and seedlings were too numerous to contend with. The tree was about 5 years old and had wonderful branching. The older the tree became, the greater the number of seeds it produced. We've been finding them far from the tree also and reluctantly decided it was time to call it quits. All I can say is, You can't judge a book by its cover!

Wow, I never realized there were such negative feelings about this tree. (And illegal to sell in FL?!?!) I bought one at a yard sale in St. Petersburg, Florida several years ago in a little pot for 75 cents. Didn't even know what it was called then. Took it home and kept it in a gallon-sized pot for a while. (Noticed that when in a pot it needs lots of water or it will wilt and drop leaves, but usually recovers after being watered). When I moved to a new home I took it with me, and ended up planting it in one corner of my yard.

That was 5 years ago. It now is about 25 feet tall, and although I find many seedlings in my yard (not sure if from seeds or roots), there are nowhere near as many as the thousands upon thousands of maple seedlings I have to pull up or mulch-over from my maple tree every spring. I have even saved some of the tallow seedlings in little pots with the intention of giving them to friends, because I hate to just "kill" a little tree (except for the bazillions of little maples, ha!)

After reading the comments above I'm a little paranoid about what this tree might eventually do, but I think it's too late now since the tree is well-established. Guess I'll just have to enjoy it (and throw away the little ones I have in pots).

We live near Orlando and have 2 tallow trees in our back yard (we didn't plant them- they were here when we bought the home 5 years ago). We contacted a tree service to have them trimmed and received the bad news that it will cost us $525 to remove the trees and grind the stumps. We were advised that if they are not removed they could damage our home's foundation as well as our sprinkler system. Of the 3 services we called, none of them will simply trim the trees- they must be removed. We were even told that some of the roots from this type of tree can grow as long as a football field!!! The roots of these trees are part of the lawn now, which make mowing a real challenge.

The "PopCorn Tree" is a native of China. It was brought to the USA first to Charleston, SC in the 1700's. Obviously it has faired well here as has spread to all coastal states from NC to TX to AR. And all the way to Tampa in FL. I think it is sad that such a beautiful tree is being considered illegal to have or sell in some areas, tho I do understand that it has become a threat to these areas. I have two beautiful large ones in my back yard and have enjoyed the many different stages it goes thru from the fragrant catkins, the greenish unripe fruit, the white ripe fruit that resembles popcorn, from which the tree gets it's name, to the beautiful fall display of red leaves. perhaps research will develope a way to contain this invasive tree and save it's reputation. I, for one, certainly hope so. My trees have caused no problems in my yard or neighbors to my knowledge....SandPiper.....

We had two Chinese Tallow trees, both of which have been cut down due to the thousands of seedlings growing all through lawn, and beds. The trees had a pleasant fragrance in spring, and beautiful colors in fall, but it came to be a real chore pulling out the many, many seedlngs each year. As was said, there are a lot of other trees that are pretty wich would cause less problems.

Our tree provides shade and a spectacular show of color in the fall. It also provides a disturbing odor (similiar to cat urine) when in bloom. Is there any way to retard the bloom without destroying the foilage?

Beautiful tree, but it is invasive in south Florida. It reseeds, but that is easy to control. The biggest issue is all the new trees growing from the roots. When I cut down the new tree, another grows from the original root. When I cut back the original root, more trees pop up on the other side of the original tree.

Would you believe that I bought one of these trees to plant in Montgomery, Ala. 30 years ago? Now since I have been in gardening for awhile, I know not to tolerate these nice trees because they are very invasive and are harmful to native species. The time to pull up these trees if when you can recognize it by the leaves. Don't wait too long. They have a long taproot that is hard to pull up. These trees are beautiful in the fall, but there are other trees just as beautiful and not invasive.

8a

Fast-growing, lovely in the fall, but truly invasive. The one in the front yard doesn't present much of a problem because the seeds have fewer places they can survive; however, the one in the back sends seeds into all of my beds (which cover most of the yard), and I can pull hundreds - and I'm not exaggerating - in a day without making a dent. Have pulled 15-20 per pot from my containers.

They present an overwhelming problem in our area...and yet, when I see them in their fall glory, I'm still impressed.

This plant spreads easily, but is easily controlled. We have many wild birds that winter here to eat the seeds. Robins come by the thousands. Also Yellow Rumped Warblers. The fall color is great, the blooms smell very good. It makes a very beautiful tree, can be pruned to shape. It has spread over much ugly waste land in this area. It is widely hated, but most is rote reasoning (they heard from a neighbor). It is less likely to spread than most Elms, and for the first year a simple lawn mower handles most growth. We have Ash, Oaks, Pine, Cedar, American Elms, Cedar Elms, and wild Honeysuckle all holding their own easily. Great tree.

The Chinese Tallow Tree is on the Red Alert list for the Invasive Plant Council of California. If found it is to be reported to the California Invasive Plant Council, County Agricultural Commissioner, or California Department of Food and Agriculture. According to the IPC web site "It has the potiential to spread explosively" especially in the wetland environment.

California Invasive Plant Council Web Page: [HYPERLINK@www.caleppc.org]

That said, it is interesting to note that I see it in city plantings through out the Sacramento valley and East Bay area.

I have one which is Bonsai Material. (I have no idea if it will survive the process). The other tree I have is in a container on a patio. I have had no trouble with the trees as container trees, and they have not formed seeds. They are beautiful in the fall, gorgeous shades of yellow, peach, and reds. I definately would never plant it in the ground from what I have read from other gardeners. I do love these trees (in their containers).

This will grow where other trees will not. It was the only tree in our yard when I was a child in south Lousiana (U.S.) It has wonderful fall colors of red, purple, gold & many variations of these. However in my area, they are taking over areas such as along rights-of-ways, railroads, ditches, old pastures, in parks, etc.

They are extremely invasive & take over from our wonderful natives. My neighbor has a very large, tall one and it sends seeds all over the whole neighborhood; they float easily down the property lines into the drainage ditches. It seems that every single one germinates and I pull hundreds each year just from my yard alone. I was not aware that they are a wildlife food. The roots also come up to the surface, making it difficult to cut the lawn. There is definitely more negative than positive with this plant. Beware!

Adamantly, strongly, determinedly negative. This species is invasive to the extreme and is causing considerable damage to Louisiana's native flora. Being a euphorb, its sap is toxic and therefore this plant has no predators in our environment. I'd also read that studies are under way investigating toxins in the fallen foliage which inhibit germination of other plant species' seeds. I personally feel that every means necessary should be taken to eradicat this species from the continent.

I agree with both the previous reviews. We have had a large one removed from our yard. It was with mixed feelings, because the Pileated Woodpeckers enjoyed eating the seeds for weeks after the leaves fell. I'm sure they planted plenty of the seeds with a healthy shot of guano.

This species is a serious threat to natural communities in the southeast from South Carolina to Florida and west to Texas. Chinese tallow forms dense thickets and monospecific forests out competing native species and dramatically reducing species diversity. For more information please visit [HYPERLINK@www.dep.state.fl.us] or [HYPERLINK@www.fleppc.org.]

Possession of Chinese Tallow with the intent to sell, transport, or plant is illegal in Florida

These trees are considered invasive, yet I have only seen two seedlings in my neighborhood, and there are four trees on the street. However, I have pulled up hundreds of Oak and Camphor seedlings.

These trees are fast growing and have a silver "sparkle" to the rounded leaves, when the wind blows, they are very pretty. They are one of the few trees in my area that have fall colour, the leaves turn red before falling off.

I recieved my two seedlings from the two neighbors that have the adult ones. I got them late in summer and they are about 1 1/2 feet high now (it's April.) They prefer sun, though I have them in shade and they are growing okay. I think they would have grown faster in the sun. I have mine in containers right now, as I plan to move soon, but will plant them as specimen trees once we get settled.

I also want to add that although these put off numerous seeds, I have not had any luck growing them from seed myself. One of the trees next door has shoots coming up from the roots, these can be carefully dug up (with part of the root) and planted to propagate.