Q.Negatives of Royal Empress Tree
The glowing description of Royal Empress tree sounds wonderful, but I heard somewhere that they drop messy fruit and spring up new little trees all around. Is this true? Please answer and include any other things that may be a downside of this tree. What about cleaning up very big leaves when they drop in fall?
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
In some areas (especially the South), this tree is considered invasive and a nuisance, spreading (by suckers or seed sprouting) where it is not wanted. Many have hollow trunks, making them susceptible to storm damage. Not a good tree for privacy. Yes, they do drop many leaves in fall and fruit, which looks messy and can require a lot of clean up. In fact, they leaf out late and drop leaves early.The seed pods cling to the tree, which can also be unsightly.
