Little Rock, AR Invasive Plant Rules: Tree-of-Heaven Removal (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Sec. 15-106, invasive plant species list
- Species named
- Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
- Where it applies
- vehicular use area landscape substitutions
- Companion rule
- Sec. 15-104 substitute-plant standard
- Enforcement
- city official review of landscape plans
Summary
Little Rock's landscaping code lists tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) as an invasive plant species, and it cannot be used to satisfy required site landscaping.
Sec. 15-106. - Invasive plant species.
Ailanthus Altissima Tree of Heaven Lythrum Salicaria Purple Loosestrife Vinca Minor Littleleaf Periwinkle Albizia Julibrissin Mimosa Mahonia Bealei Leatherleaf Mahonia Wisteria Spp Wisteria Celastrus Orbiculatus Oriental Bittersweet Melia Azedarach Chinaberry Tree Elaeagnus Pungens Silverthorn Nandia Domestica Heavenly Bamboo Elaeagnus Umbellate Autumn Olive Paulownia Tomentosa Princess Tree Euonymus Alatus Burning Bush Persicaria Perforliata Mile-a-Minute Euonymus Fortune Winter Creeper Perilla Frutescens Beefsteak Plant Fstuca Arundinacea Tall Fescue Phontinia Serratifolia Chinese Photinia Hedera Helix English Ivy Phyllostachys Spp Bamboo Hesperis Atronalis Dame's Rocket Polygonum Cuspidatum Japanese Knotweed Lespedeza Bicolor Shrubby Lespedeza Pueraria Montana Var. Lobata Kudzu Lespedeza Cuneata Sericea Lespedeza Pyrus Calleryana Callery or Bradford Pear Ligustrum Spp Privet Triadica Sebifera Chinese Tallow Tree Liriope Spicata Running Monkey Grass Rosa Multiflora Multiflora Rose Lonicera Spp Non-Native Honeysuckle Vinca Major Bigleaf Periwinkle
(Ord. No. 22,252, § 8, 4-18-23)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 83).
Full Breakdown
Little Rock's landscaping and tree protection chapter defines invasive plant species as non-native plants that spread aggressively and disrupt ecosystems, then names Ailanthus altissima, tree of heaven, on the invasive species list in Sec. 15-106. Under Sec. 15-104's flexibility rule for vehicular-use-area landscaping, a developer may substitute plants outside the chapter's approved lists only if the substitute withstands local weather, meets other chapter 15 standards, is not on the Sec. 15-106 invasive list, and is approved by a city official.
Violations & Fines
Using tree of heaven or another Sec. 15-106 invasive species as a substitute plant on a required landscape plan gets the substitution rejected by the city's landscape reviewer, forcing replanting with an approved species.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have a tree of heaven on my property in Little Rock?
What other species does Little Rock list as invasive?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Little Rock
Compare Little Rock to another location·View the Arkansas invasive plant rules overview
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