What are these?

[RoseMartha]

Please can someone please tell me what these are, see pics, before I dig them or try to dig them up?

Many thanks

They are all tree saplings, probably self seeded - first and third are ash and the secind one is sycamore

Thank you.

@Beekeeper1
Am i right in thinking the sooner they are replanted the better?

Do you want to keep them? Sycamores are HUGE trees

Only if your garden is about an acre or you can replant them in a park or woodland. They are not suitable trees for an average city garden.

Ash die back disease is a problem so I wouldn't plant one just now.

They are weeds - trees can be weeds too. Get them up ASAP

@Purplewithred

They are weeds - trees can be weeds too. Get them up ASAP

We gardeners are ruthless 😬

If I remember correctly, Sycamores are the ones with the seeds we used to play with as children, calling them ‘helicopters’ as they used to spin as they fell. A long wing type structure with a seed at each end.

And they fall everywhere. You will continually be picking seeds out if the grass, other plant pots, borders etc.

I love trees but I’d honestly get rid of those. If you feel bad dig them up and replant them in a forest or somewhere local but not overhanging your garden ( allow for trees to grow so don’t plant less than 10m to 15m from your boundary.

Hi @RoseMartha - as others have said, not really suitable trees for an average garden so probably best removed. Realistically, as they look like second or even third year saplings, the chances of removing them with the tap root intact in order to replant elsewhere are slim. I think they have to be sacrificed quiye honestly.

Both ash and sycamore have "winged' seeds which are distributed by the wind, hence the reason that they pop up all over the place. Just another of nature's amazing seed dispersal methods!

Okay thank you for advice I appreciate it. 🤗 They are in my elderly parents garden. I think I will have to pay to get them taken out if too much for me.It was interesting to find out how old they are.

@RoseMartha - before you go paying someone to do it, I would think that they would dig out fairly easily. The alternative is to buy a cheap pair of lopping shears, cut them off at ground level and ( although I am not an advocate for poisons) paint the cut stumps with a proprietary stump killer from a garden centre or hardware shop

@Beekeeper1
Okay thank you. That is helpful

They will come out in 5 mins each with a decent spade and a bit of effort. You don’t need to pay anyone

Even if they had been trees suitable for a garden, you definitely don't want them up against a wall, or a concrete base (or anywhere near drains though I don't think that applies to these).

Sycamores are the ones with the seeds we used to play with as children, calling them ‘helicopters’ as they used to spin as they fell. A long wing type structure with a seed at each end. Yes, that's a good description of sycamore seed. But the ones we used to call "helicopters" were lime - round heavy seed hanging by a short stem from a flat blade about 4cm long and a bit less than 1cm broad. Looked like helicopter with its rotors above as they fell spinning.