The 6 Beautiful but Messy Trees That Will Leave You With Hours of Cleanup – and What to Plant Instead

Most of us do not have unlimited free time to garden. That’s why terms like “easy-care” and “drought-tolerant” can make a shrub so appealing. And if the tree characterized as “easy-care” is also gorgeous, it has a good chance of finding its way into our garden.

But it’s important to slow down a bit and figure out if that tree is... well, if it's messy. Messy trees can be easy enough to grow, but you may be signing yourself up for relentless cleanup – and some stunning ornamentals that light up your landscape may create far more work for you than you realize.

Honestly, the messiest trees might promise the world, but they are sure to make your life infinitely more difficult, perhaps dropping spiky seed balls or spreading thousands of unwanted seedlings. And garden stores know better than to stick a “messy” label on them.

Six Beautiful-But-Oh-So-Messy Trees to Avoid

Keen to swerve the cleanup? Well, Gardening Know How is here to help!

We’ve identified six of the messiest trees around (none of which happen to be your birth month tree, thankfully) and we’re here to rat them out. We’ll outline the features of each that will win your heart, as well as what they do to earn their “messy” status, plus an equally beautiful, less messy alternative. You're welcome.

1. Ginkgo

Ah the ginkgo. It’s hard to add this fabulous, ancient tree to the “messy” list given its incredible history; after all, its lineage dates back over 270 million years, and it is known as a “living fossil” because, for years, botanists believed that the tree was extinct. They found fossil evidence of its unique, fan-shaped leaves, but nary a living tree was found for years. Then, one day in the 1600s, a small grove was located in a temple garden in Japan and the world got ginkgos again.

These are wonderful, noble trees with leaves that blaze gold in the autumn. However, do not invite one into your landscape until you are assured that it is a male. Female ginkgos make the “messy” list because they drop oodles of fleshy, cherry-sized fruit that smell like rotting flesh when crushed. You’ll be cleaning up and holding your nose for a month.

Plant instead: a male gingko. There are cultivars that are all-male (like this beautiful Autumn Gold Ginkgo Tree from Nature Hills) and this is not the time to demand gender equality!

2. Eastern Cottonwood

Eastern cottonwood is a messy tree with a lot to recommend it. It is a fast-growing, deciduous tree, large and impressive, sometimes reaching 150 ft tall. It plays a critical role in the ecosystem, supporting 249 caterpillar species (including your birth month caterpillar). It is also lovely, with flat leaf stems that catch even the lightest breeze, causing the heart-shaped leaves to shimmer and rustle.

But look out below! Every year a female cottonwood produces a massive volume of tiny seeds wrapped in sticky white, cotton-like fibers that blanket lawns, clog gutters, and wrap around air conditioners.

Plant instead: the Chinese pistache. If you long for a large shade tree but want to avoid cottonwood's fluffy seeds, plant a Chinese pistache like this one from Brighter Blooms. It grows more slowly and fits in well in residential gardens.

3. Southern Magnolia

Southern magnolias are the belles of the ball in the landscape, with their goblet-shaped, intensely fragrant white blooms and large, glossy leaves. The trees are evergreens that can grow above 60 feet (20m) tall and half that wide. They have a real presence in the garden.

But don’t fall for this pretty face until you learn of the work you will be required to do to keep your garden looking good. Southern magnolia trees shed, and they shed almost constantly. They shed their heavy waxy leaves; they shed their large seed cones; and they shed spent petals. Picking up in a year-round job.

Plant instead: flowering dogwood. If you love the Southern magnolia’s showy flowers, sub in a flowering dogwood (aka the tree quietly replacing magnolias everywhere). It is a more manageable size with lovely white “flowers” that are actually bracts.

Shop Flowering Dogwoods:

4. Bradford Pear

The gorgeous cloud of white spring flowers has turned many a head, and the Bradford pear (despite the controversy surrounding it) is widely used as a street tree and even in gardens. It offers a graceful, symmetrical shape, pretty spring blossoms, and lively fall foliage.

However, best enjoy looking at this little flowering tree in someone else’s yard, because those white flowers that look like they were cultivated by angels actually smell awful! Some liken the odor to rotting fish, others to sweaty foot fungus. This happens when the tree is in full bloom, and the petals hold onto the smell as they fall.

Plant instead: a wild cherry (Prunus avium). Like the Bradford pear, a cherry erupts in clusters of stunning white flowers just as spring rolls in. But something like the Montmorency Cherry Tree from Nature Hills is a native and its blossoms smell like flowers instead of fish. Those flowers produce fruit that is loved by local birds.

5. American Sweetgum

Oh the autumn color you’ll enjoy with a sweetgum tree! This fast-growing native tree has lovely starry leaves that turn all sorts of fiery colors before they fall. Each leaf has five to seven lobes that turn orange, crimson, and purple in autumn. A sweetgum is a tolerant tree, accepting heat, drought, and soil compaction, as well as feeding birds in winter.

But sweetgum has its downsides: primarily, the hard, spiky "gumballs" that hurt bare feet and make mowing difficult. Yes, this lovely tree drops thousands of woody seed pods from winter through spring. They hurt your feet if you walk barefoot, and even with shoes on, they can trip you up and cause ankle injuries. They even destroy lawnmower blades. Yet they are really difficult to rake up.

Plant instead: red maple (Acer rubrum). If you want a tree for fall color and shade, a seedless red maple cultivar will treat you right. It offers similar shade and a brilliant red or orange autumn display and similar shade.

Shop Red Maple Trees:

6. Crabapple

What a mix! Crabapples offer spectacular spring flowers and attractive berries. They are small trees, usually under 25 feet (8m) tall, grown for their ornamental beauty and wildlife value.

However, if you get a messy crabapple variety, you may come to regret inviting the tree into your landscape. The large, juicy fruits fall readily from the tree and make the ground below a slippery mess. Having to trudge through the slippery rotting fruits is icky and even dangerous, but cleaning up cannot be called fun wither.

Plant instead: a “clean” variety of crabapple. You can select a fruitless variety like Spring Snow Crabapple (Malus 'Spring Snow'), with dense clusters of fragrant, pure white blossoms in mid-spring. Or, if you prefer, a Prairifire Flowering Crabapple Tree from Nature Hills, which promises to be far too tempting to local birds to ever spill a berry.

Of course, if you have the time to do the cleanup, then there's no harm planting a messy tree in your yard. Just be sure you're willing to roll your sleeves up and get cracking when things get mucky – and if not, one of our beautiful alternatives is definitely the better choice for you.

Happy planting!