This tree is stinking up some Toronto neighbourhoods, and residents want them cut down

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An increasingly common non-native tree in Toronto may have overstayed its welcome.

For over 20 years Alan Page and his wife have lived in their Leslieville home, near Jones Avenue and Gerrard Street E., and their backyard ginkgo has always been part of the property’s landscape.

But the tree has recently started bearing fruit every autumn, which is sticky and smelly, and is often tracked into the house, Page told CBC Toronto.

“You can’t get the residue off, it’s like glue,” he said, “and it attracts flying insects as well, like bees and wasps, which is a concern.”

The female ginkgo tree’s fruit produces such a foul odor — described by arborists, city councillors and homeowners who spoke with CBC Toronto as a cross between dog poop and vomit — that residents have been asking their councillors for permission to cut them down, even though the trees are otherwise healthy.

Page applied for permission to have the tree removed earlier this year, but city forestry staff refused his application.

Alan Page, in his Myrtle Avenue backyard in the Jones-Gerrard area. Earlier this year he applied for a permit to have the ginkgo tree removed because of the stench every fall, but city staff turned him down. His appeal will be heard Thursday. — Alan Page stands in front of his ginkgo tree in his backyard in Leslieville. Earlier this year he applied for a permit to have the tree removed because of the stench every fall, but city staff turned him down. (Mike Smee/CBC)

His appeal is being heard Thursday by the Toronto and East York Community Council but staff are recommending councillors refuse the appeal.

“The ginkgo tree at Myrtle Avenue is a valuable part of the urban forest, providing numerous aesthetic, social and economic benefits to the property owner and the local community, and therefore should not be removed,” said Kim Statham, director of Toronto’s Urban Forestry branch in the report, dated April 9.

‘One of the worst things you can imagine’

Last week, Coun. Josh Matlow convinced council to ask forestry staff to look for creative ways to help homeowners who are desperate to rid their neighbourhoods of the trees and their noxious fruit, which ripens and falls to the ground every October.

“The ginkgo tree has fruit that smells like one of the worst things you can imagine,” Matlow said.

“We’ve heard from a lot of residents expressing real concerns about the impact on their quality of life,” he said.

The city currently has about 11.5 million trees, and arborist Marc Ambeau estimates that “thousands” of those are ginkgos. He said seedlings began appearing in Toronto from China several decades ago, and the females are reaching maturity which is why homeowners are only now being introduced to the ginkgo’s fruit.

Marc Ambeau, an arborist in the GTA, says ginkgo trees have been in the city just long enough now to begin producing fruit - much to the dismay of some homeowners. — Marc Ambeau, an arborist in the GTA, says ginkgo trees have been in the city just long enough now to begin producing fruit — much to the dismay of some homeowners. (Mike Smee/CBC)

Currently, homeowners need a permit from the city to take down any tree with a diameter of 30 cm or greater — even if it’s on private property. Violating the bylaw can carry fines of up to $100,000.

The strict regulations are part of an ongoing effort by staff to increase the tree canopy to 40 per cent coverage of the city by 2050. It’s currently estimated to be at about 30 per cent, according to city records.

Matlow said that although his motion calls on staff to come up with some solutions by 2027, he hopes they’ll loosen the tree removal rules as they relate to the ginkgo immediately.

James Chiu lives with his wife and two young children next door to Alan Page and his wife. Chiu says he felt hopeless when he learned that Page's application to have the ginkgo tree removed had been turned down. He's hoping the appeal Thursday is suc — James Chiu lives with his wife and two young children next door to Alan Page and his wife. Chiu says he felt hopeless when he learned that Page’s application to have the ginkgo tree removed had been turned down. (Mike Smee/CBC)

One of the people who have submitted a letter to the city in support of Page’s appeal is his neighbour James Chiu.

Chiu, who has two small children, says in the fall, the fruit from Page’s ginkgo covers his backyard and his children often track it into the house.

“When it rots, it attracts animals — squirrels, raccoons — and they leave their droppings in my yard, so you can imagine the orchestra of smells,” he said. “When I moved here about eight years ago, I didn’t know what a ginkgo tree was. I found out the hard way.”

If councillors do give Page the green light to cut down his ginkgo tree, city staff are recommending that he plant five new trees in its place — something he says he’ll happily do.

“I want to be able to enjoy my house and backyard without stomping through ginkgo fruit or annoying my neighbours,” he said, “and the problem is only going to get worse; the tree is getting bigger every year.”

Arborist Ambeau said his advice to homeowners is enjoy the trees’ advantages — they offer shade, and shelter for wildlife — and learn to live with its down side.

“We shouldn’t wipe out every female ginkgo just because it stinks a little bit in the fall,” he said.