Real Simple Features SavATree Expert on Trees That Create Yard Mess

August 2026

Erik Lindberg, ISA Certified Arborist and Assistant Director of Plant Health Care at SavATree, was featured in Real Simple, sharing expert guidance on which popular trees create the most yard cleanup and what to plant instead.

The article, published August 1, 2026, rounded up six beautiful but high-maintenance trees, from American sweetgum and female ginkgo to cottonwood, silver maple, crabapple, and Callery pear, and paired each with a cleaner cultivar alternative.

Lindberg offered detailed, tree-by-tree guidance on the specific messes each species creates, including sweetgum's spiny gumballs, the rancid odor of female ginkgo seeds, the cotton-like seed fibers of female cottonwood, silver maple's weak wood and abundant samaras, fermenting crabapple fruit and apple scab, and the weak branch unions and invasive spread of Callery pear. For each, he recommended a better-behaved substitute, such as a fruitless sweetgum cultivar, a named male ginkgo, a disease-resistant American elm, or eastern redbud.

The right tree in the wrong spot can mean months of raking, clogged gutters, tripping hazards, and even storm-prone limbs. As Lindberg notes, messiness is often a matter of placement as much as species, and choosing well from the start saves years of cleanup and risk. A SavATree ISA Certified Arborist can help you match the right tree to your site, soil, and climate before you plant.

Read the full article here