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It looks like a wild cherry of some sort. Not the kind that makes edible fruit. The shinier leaves and serration make it look different than a willow. I'd say it's a weed tree. If you don't like it, you'll have to dig it up as they come back up from their roots. If you do want to keep it, no harm done.
Summers19, where are you located? We are in Arkansas and it surely looks like something I've seen around here......but didn't know the name of either....
We are located in Chesapeake, VA...in SE Virginia. We have not seen fruit on it yet. It has grown approximately 2-3 feet per year (both vertically and across). We thought it was a weed at first, but let it grow anyway. Then the next year it started to take a round form and it helped fill in our naked yard so we kept it again for a second year. Now in its third year, it looks like it could grow into an actual tree of some sort. It crowded out a hydrangea bush next to it and killed it.
We just have no idea what it is and we're curious b/c if it's a fast growing tree we'll keep it. If it's some sort of weed or invasive bush, we thought we'd pull it up and plant a birch tree or something fast growing to help shield us from the neighbors.
Thanks for everyone's replies. I hope my location helps you identify what this is.
It looks like a wild black cherry tree. It blooms in early spring. I have them in the wooded lot opposite my house. They can be grown as shrubs or as trees.
Nice to know it's not some weird tropical vegetation.
If it's been in place for 3 years now, there wouldn't seem to be any great rush to rip it out. If you wait for a month or so until the fruit sets, you'll likely have a much better idea of what you're dealing with.
If the fruit sets as juicy, dark red berries, you have a choke cherry tree. They are quite rapid growers and tough as a toot. They max out at about 25 feet, and, here in Ontario, live for about 30 years. They can provide decent shade. The berries have major pucker power, but some folks make wine from them and the birds love them.
If the fruit sets as small, hard green ball, you have a black cherry, which is a slower growing, quite impressive hardwood. The black cherry will max out at about 40 feet and be around for up to 100 years.
Once you've identified your tree, you should certainly give it a judicious pruning. Trees grow from the branch tips outwards, so a branch that is 2 feet off the ground now will still be 2 feet off the ground 5 years from now. Simply remove about half the branches, begining at the bottom of the tree. Clip then as close as possible to the trunk with a sharp pair of pruners. You can also prune back branches that are growing outwads to places you don't want them.
You never know, you might have your barrier tree free courtesy of Mother Nature.
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Mystery tree
