A prolific crop of maple tree seedlings are sprouting up in lawns across Michigan

Kevin Frank<frankk@msu.edu>, Michigan State University, Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences - April 26, 2024

Updated from an original article written by Kevin Frank and Erin Hill.

It's not unusual to see tree seedlings sprouting up in lawns in spring, and this year is no different. Many homeowners inquire about spraying herbicides to eliminate these pesky, diminutive trees, but the best answer is to keep mowing.

Maple tree seedlings growing in a lawn. — Maple tree seedlings infesting a lawn. Photo by Kevin Frank, MSU.

It's not unusual to see tree seedlings, especially from maple trees, sprouting up in lawns in spring. However, this year maple seedlings seem especially abundant, and the high numbers may be due to a heavy seed production (masting) event last fall. Bert Cregg, PhD, wrote an excellent article describing this phenomenon in fall 2021.

Many homeowners inquire to Michigan State University Extension about spraying herbicides to eliminate these pesky, diminutive trees, but the best answer is to keep mowing.

Although initially the seedlings may exist below your standard mowing height, given time they will grow up into the mowing zone and be eliminated. It’s better for the turf to maintain a consistent mowing height rather than lower the mowing height to try and eliminate the tree seedlings quicker. Hand-pulling is another option, although an option that most are not interested in pursuing.

Maple seedlings in a lawn. Photo by Kevin Frank, MSU.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).