Is my tree-of-heaven safe in a storm?
Brittle, weak, coarse-grained wood that fails under loads native hardwoods shrug off, which is why it is treated as a removal-first species. Its fast growth builds large diameter without matching wood strength, so a 40 ft tree-of-heaven over a roof is a bigger storm liability than a 60 ft oak in the same position.
What pruning can and can't prevent
There is effectively no pruning program for this species, because cutting stimulates it — a topped or cut stem answers with dozens of root suckers and stump sprouts that can put on 6–12 ft in the first year alone. Any cut intended to control it must be paired with immediate herbicide on the fresh stump, within minutes, or handled as a basal bark or hack-and-squirt treatment on the standing stem; cutting alone reliably makes the problem bigger than it was.
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