The tree also grows in moist soils along streams. It invades dry and mesic prairies, including sand prairies. It is now established from Minnesota south to Arkansas and west to Utah. This tree flowers in spring before leaves begin to unfold. The fruits develop quickly and are disseminated by wind, allowing the species to form thickets of hundreds of seedlings in bare ground.
Seeds germinate readily and seedlings grow rapidly.
Girdling trees is the preferred management technique. Girdled trees die slowly over the course of one to two years and do not resprout. Girdle in late spring to mid-summer when sap is flowing and the bark easily peels away from the sapwood. When girdling, the bark must be removed in a band around the tree trunk just to the outside of the wood. If girdled too deeply, the tree will respond by resprouting from the roots.