GARDENING

Ailanthus altissima

Tree of heaven

Deciduous tree with large leaves.

Ailanthus must be the only 50-foot weed in the world, and I have cursed it often as I tried, usually unsuccessfully, to remove it from various places in my yard where it decided to sprout.

Then one day I went strolling through Echo Park and saw an entire hill of ailanthus, nicely shading a pretty wood house, gracefully fanning the air and looking downright regal.

The mature leaves were huge, almost 2 feet long and divided into many leaflets, and the newer leaves were tipped with bronze. They made a lovely grove. This did not deter me in my struggle to remove ailanthus from my vegetable garden and flower beds, but it did change my attitude. Somewhat.

Ailanthus is highly prized in other parts of the world, especially its native China; immigrants to this country brought seeds with them, and aggressive ailanthus took root. Took over, in some cases.

There seems little doubt that the eponymous plant in the book “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” is an ailanthus; they are all over the East Coast as street trees, pushing up through cracks in concrete, lining turnpikes--and shading yards. But the prettiest I’ve ever seen is in Ashland, Ore., near the entrance to Lithia Park. A spreading giant, planted nearly a century ago by a Chinese immigrant, it is one glorious weed.

Ailanthus is not a big seller in nurseries; I guess they assume nobody really wants them. If you know someone who is trying to annihilate an ailanthus, ask for some seeds or dig up an infant plant. Just be sure, before you do, that you and your neighbors won’t object to some serious weed pulling in the future. If you do find one poking up in an unwanted area, yank it out immediately, while it’s still tiny.

You can dig them, of course, but once past the 12-inch stage they have very deep roots. Or you can spray them with herbicides, but I don’t recommend this; the herbicide tends to destroy the plants around it, while giving the ailanthus no more than a slight headache.

When it is mature it is beautiful, because the seed pods that appear late in the year are very nice in dried-flower arrangements, and because it thrives--proliferates--without irrigation or clean air, in any kind of wretched soil.