Montgomery County, MD Invasive Plant Rules: Tree-of-Heaven Removal (2026)
Key Facts
- Governs
- Pesticide use, not removal duty
- Zone
- 25 feet of a waterbody
- Applies to
- Parks Dept. (M-NCPPC) land
- Condition
- Only when species is present
Summary
A county pesticide regulation names Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven) as an invasive species that can be treated with registered pesticide within 25 feet of a waterbody on Parks Department land, an exception to the county's normal pesticide-use limits.
A waterbody environment is any area of land managed by the Parks Department within 25 feet of a waterbody that is subject to the pesticide use restrictions under Section 33B-14 of the Code. A person may apply a registered pesticide to control these species in a waterbody environment. Registered pesticides may only be applied directly to these species when they are present, and must not be used in anticipation of these species being present or applied to any area of a waterbody environment where they are not present.
Scientific Name Common Name Aegopodium podagraria Bishop Weed; Goutweed Ailanthus altissima Tree of Heaven Ampelopsis brevipedunculata Porcelain Berry Artemisia vulgaris Mugwort Berberis thunbergii Red Barberry Celastrus orbiculatus Round Leaf Bittersweet Elaeagnus umbellata Autumn Olive Euonymus fortunei Winter Creeper Fallopia japonica Fleeceflower Ficaria verna Lesser Celandine Hedera helix Common Ivy Houttuynia cordata Chameleon Plant Humulus japonicus Wild Hop Iris pseudacorus Yellow Flag Iris Lonicera japonica Hall’s Honeysuckle Lonicera maackii Amur Honeysuckle Lonicera morrowi Morrow’s Honeysuckle Lonicera standishii Standish’s Honeysuckle Lonicera tatarica Tatarian Honeysuckle Microstegium vimineum Packing Grass/Stiltgrass
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-90: Montgomery County Code contains legislation effective through May 7, 2026 | Zoning Updated Effective: April 13, 2026 | COMCOR Regulations effective as of July 1, 2026).
Full Breakdown
COMCOR 33B.00.01.07 lists tree of heaven among species "designated by the Executive as detrimental to a waterbody environment" under County Code § 33B-5(c). In that 25-foot waterbody buffer on land managed by the Montgomery County Department of Parks (an M-NCPPC agency, not the county executive branch), a person may apply a registered pesticide to control it, but only when the plant is actually present, not preventively or where it isn't growing. The rule targets pesticide application on park land; it does not create a removal mandate for private landowners.
Violations & Fines
No stated penalty in this provision; it is a permitted exception, not a prohibition. General Chapter 33B pesticide-misuse enforcement runs through the Dept. of Environmental Protection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Montgomery County require homeowners to remove tree of heaven?
Who enforces this rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Montgomery County
Compare Montgomery County to another location·View the Maryland invasive plant rules overview
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