War on Tree of Heaven one hell of a problem

Tree of Heaven plants won’t disappear suddenly from the Okanagan landscape despite being declared a noxious and invasive species that could do great damage to the Valley’s fruit industry.

Eradication will take time and involve consultation with owners of properties where the fast-growing plants are established, regional officials say.

“This isn’t something we’re going to solve in six months. This is going to take a concerted effort with a lot of education and working with the public,” says Dan Maja, chief bylaw enforcement officer for the Central Okanagan Regional District.

Although the regional district can issue orders for the immediate removal of plants on a long roster of noxious weeks, that’s rarely done in practice.

“I don’t want to be heavy-handed in ordering the removal of all these things. We need to take a measured approach. There’s only so many tree-removal companies working in the Okanagan, so there’s that constraint as well for homeowners,” Maja said.

“We want to make sure it’s an education-first process. So it’s going to take a couple years,” he said.

The Tree of Heaven plant, along with the Siberian elm tree and Russian Olive trees were added to the list of noxious and invasive plants by regional directors at a meeting last week.

Tree of Heaven is the preferred breeding ground for a type of insect called the spotted lantern fly.

“These extremely hazardous pests cause widespread damage by feeding on plant sap and travelling between host plants such as grapes, apple, and other stone fruits,” a report to directors stated.

“This would lead to significant impacts to B.C.’s grape, fruit tree, and forest industries.”

The Tree of Heaven plant resembles a sumac but is native to China. It was brought to North America in the 1800s for gardening purposes. Aside from hosting the spotted lantern fly, it grows quickly, outcompetes other plants for nutrients, and emits a foul odour.

Spotted lantern fly has been detected in 11 U.S. states, two of which border Canada. In Pennsylvania, Maja said, the fruit-growing industry has been “decimated” by the insect: “We’d like to not see that happen in the Okanagan,” Maja said.

SUBMITTED Tree of Heaven plants, which can grow widely throughout the Okanagan, have been declared a noxious and invasive species which can cause great damage to the Valley’s fruit industry. But removal of the trees will take a long time, regional officials say.