The answer is yes! Tossed into an already fire, they’ll burn just fine. The unique shape and texture of sweet gum balls make them an excellent material for crafting. But if you’re looking to start a fire from scratch, you might want to consider another type of wood.
What happens when you put sweet gum on a fire?
How many BTU's does sweet gum produce?
Why do you store sweet gum under a roof?
Does sweet gum burn like pine?
Is sweet gum good for wood burning?
Can you burn sweet gum?
Is it hard to split sweet gum?
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Is there any use for sweet gum balls?
Are sweetgum tree balls edible? While they're not edible, the balls can double as spiky mulch to keep animals away from young plants. You can even get creative and use them to make holiday trinkets or decorative balls for bowls.
How do you get rid of sweet gum balls?
Raking or Blowing Raking with a close-tined rake and bagging is an effective way of removing the balls, as well as for getting exercise. An additional method for removal is by blowing them into a pile with a power blower, ready for bagging. Tall grass interferes with the efficiency of both these methods.
Can gum burn fire?
It burns fast and hot and creates a lot of ashes. What is this? When you throw a piece of sweet gum on the fire you'll probably notice heavy smoke in the beginning before it fully ignites. Sweet gum firewood tends to give off a lot of smoke and it even has an unpleasant odor at times.
What's inside a sweet gum ball?
Seed collection: Sweetgum fruit is an aggregate of small 2-celled capsules that from a spiked ball. Inside each capsule are one or two small winged seeds. Harvest the fruit in the fall after they have turned from green to dark brown and before the beak-like capsules open to release the seeds.
Do sweetgum trees produce balls every year?
General characteristics of the Sweet Gum Tree Sweet Gum trees are large deciduous trees with beautiful ovular/oval shape. They are long lived, with ages reaching 100-150 years old. Once a tree reaches 20-30 years in age it will start producing seed pods. Numerous spike-ball shaped seed pods can be produced each year.
Why do people hate sweet gum trees?
Other folks dislike the tree because it doesn't make good firewood, since it is difficult to split and rots quickly. Likewise, some woodworkers aren't fond of sweetgum because the wood is difficult to dry straight and unsuitable for carpentry work.
Does sweet gum burn well?
While sweetgum is not very popular, it burns well in the stove. It produces a decent amount of heat among the firewood species. It produces nearly 21.3 million BTUs per cord.
Does sugar gum burn well?
Sugar Gum is also a much better long and hot burning source than other alternatives such as Red Gum. Sugar Gum has a Relative Available Heat Value of 95% where as (River) Red Gum is 81%. (Victorian Department of Primary Industries, Gavin Brook 2004).
Do burned gums grow back?
Answer: It will heal Usually the gums recover after that burn and will grow back. It may take some time though. You can buy OTC vitamin E capsules, break them open and use solution over burnt area - helps the healing. Use warm water and some salt rinses.
What are sweetgum balls good for?
Air and water easily pass through their hollow structure, and their spikey surface can even help deter slugs and other animals. With a slow decomposition rate, sweet gum balls provide long-lasting ground cover, blocking out sun and preventing weed germination.
How long does gum balls last?
While gumballs have a shelf life of about 12 months, without intensive DNA research, it's almost impossible to know exactly how old the gumballs in that creaky gumball machine outside your laundromat really are. For all you know, the colorful mouth marbles could be 100 years old.
Can you eat gum balls?
Contrary to popular myth, if you chew and swallow a gumball it will not stay in your system for seven years. Although gum base is not digestible, a swallowed piece of gum will eventually pass through your system in one piece.
Do sweet gum balls decompose?
Wait for a good rain and roll this over your lawn, imbedding the balls in the soft earth, where they will decompose. Pulling a 270-pound roller over soft ground isn't child's play. Mulch them: Because sweet gum balls shoot out from lawnmowers, they should be confined to be mulched.
Will a lawn sweeper pick up sweet gum balls?
A: Yes. Ohio Steel Sweepers will pick up sweet gum balls. More than one pass may be needed due to the prickly nature of the material. Also it may be difficult to collect ones that are buried deep in long grass.
What animal eats sweet gum balls?
Male red-winged blackbirds have distinctive red markings on their wings, called coverts, while the females are brown and very sparrow like. That day, I learned that blackbirds are more than willing to eat the fruit of the sweet gum tree, those annoying spiky balls you step on when you're barefoot in your backyard!
Sweetgum Firewood: Good or Bad? - Timber Gadgets
I will just mention that “kiln dried” firewood means that someone has burned fossil fuels to get your firewood dry. For anyone looking to burn firewood to reduce their carbon footprint this is counterproductive.
Sweet Gum Lumber - The Wood - Wood Talk Online
Hello all - I just had a sweet gum log cut up into lumber from a tree in my yard. The tree was in decline, so we bit the bullet and had it cut down. I had the arborist save a 8+ long section on the bottom. The sawyer brought his protable WoodMizer to the house and cut in on the spot. There was on...
Qualities and Uses for Sweet Gum - WOODWEB
Qualities and Uses for Sweet Gum A small sawmiller sees his first load of Gum wood, and gets advice about its value and how to handle it. June 22, 2005
Sawing and Drying Sweet Gum - WOODWEB
From contributor W: I cut some with beautiful heartwood figure - red, gray, blue, yellow, etc. About 80% of it air-dried relatively flat. The other 20% bowed and warped/twisted.
What happens when you put sweet gum on a fire?
When you throw a piece of sweet gum on the fire you'll probably notice heavy smoke in the beginning before it fully ignites. Sweet gum firewood tends to give off a lot of smoke and it even has an unpleasant odor at times.
How many BTU's does sweet gum produce?
In fact, sweet gum will produce approximately 20.6 million BTU's per cord which isn't all that bad. The major concern with the wood is the amount of work and energy it takes to split it into usable sizes. Sweet gum firewood is hard to split......really hard.
Why do you store sweet gum under a roof?
Once the wood is split, store it under a roof or cover because sweet gum tends to rot quickly and produce mold when it's exposed to moisture.
Does sweet gum burn like pine?
Many people compare the burning qualities of sweet gum firewood to pine firewood except sweet gum does not contain the sticky sap that's associated with pine. It burns fast and hot and creates a lot of ashes.
Is sweet gum good for wood burning?
Sweet gum works good for the "shoulder seasons" when the outside temperatures are mild. Since the wood burns quickly and doesn't have good coaling qualities, mixing it with other hardwoods will give you better overnight results. Many people compare the burning qualities of sweet gum firewood to pine firewood except sweet gum does not contain ...
Can you burn sweet gum?
There are many people who choose not to burn sweet gum firewood. Since the wood is difficult to split and stack compared to other popular firewood types, some view it as a waste of time and energy. Firewood is a topic of many different opinions.
Is it hard to split sweet gum?
Sweet gum firewood is hard to split......really hard. Actually, it doesn't really split it just tears, shreds and twists its way apart. If you're going to split sweet gum, using a hydraulic splitter is the best way. Even with help from the splitter, handling sweet gum is time consuming.
When do sweetgum tree balls fall? And why?
The spiky clusters are actually balls of fruit with tiny seeds inside that birds and squirrels snack on.
Are sweetgum tree balls edible?
While they’re not edible, the balls can double as spiky mulch to keep animals away from young plants. You can even get creative and use them to make holiday trinkets or decorative balls for bowls.
How to Get a Sweetgum Tree to Stop Producing Balls
Getting back to Ashley’s question, using injections on your sweetgum tree is tricky because the timing has to be just right. For the best chance of stopping the sweetgum balls, hire a certified arborist.
What Fruitless Sweetgum Tree to Plant as an Alternative
If you want to say goodbye to those balls for good (without yearly treatments), replace your tree with a fruitless sweetgum tree.
Why does sweet gum wood warp?
This is because when sweet gum wood dries out it tends to warp really bad. When it warps it get the fibers are interwoven and makes them even harder to cut through.
Where does sweet gum come from?
The truth is that sweet gum comes from the Liquidambar Styraciflua, which is one of the most common hardwoods in the southeastern United States.
How many BTUs does sweet gum wood have?
As for sweet gum wood, you can rest assured that you are getting a fine burning wood because it is cable of producing 20.6 million BTUs per cord. This is pretty impressive for firewood.
What is sweet gum firewood?
This is a type of firewood that is whitish to light pink or tan color in appearance. Due to these characteristics, some individuals will refer to the species as sapgum or sweetgum. Is sweet gum good firewood?
How old is sweet gum?
Such trees can grow to be as old as 400 years old and they can reach towering heights of 150 feet.
Is sweet gum good for firewood?
Sweet gum will make excellent firewood as it is capable of producing large amounts of heat, as long as you are willing to put in the extra work. Most people view sweet gum wood as a luxury that should be used for lumber and furniture production. The wood can be easily identified thanks to its star-shaped leaves, ...
Can sweet gum wood split?
The truth of the matter is that sweet gum wood doesn’t really split. It is more like ripping and tearing open an incredibly, tight sealed package. If you are going to split the wood, you could most certainly benefit from a hydraulic splitter. Even using one of these devices is going to be difficult and time-consuming.
How big are sweetgum balls?
What are Sweetgum Balls? As previously mentioned, sweetgum balls are the fruit of a medium to large size tree (65-155 feet or 20-47 m. tall) with a trunk up to 6 feet (1.8 m.) across that can live for an extremely long time — up to 400 years.
What is a sweetgum tree?
The sweetgum tree ( Liquidambar styraciflua) produces an extremely spiked capsule containing one or two seeds in the summer. The resulting dropped fruits become woody and are the bane of any wanderer, as they will pierce tender flesh.
What temperature do you need to compost sweetgum?
The woody fruit, from all accounts, will require a hot compost pile with an internal temperature of over 100 degree F. (37 C.) You will need to maintain the pile, turning the compost and watering it religiously. Keep the compost pile hot and bring your patience. Sweetgum balls will take some time to break down.
Can you put sweetgum in compost?
As to putting sweetgum in compost, there doesn’t seem to be any general consensus. If you are a purist and believe that you should attempt to compost everything, then the best bet is to run a “hot” compost pile. If you run a cool pile, sweetgum in compost will likely not break down and very possibly you will end up with volunteers sprouting from the pile.
Can sweetgum balls be composted?
Keep the compost pile hot and bring your patience. Sweetgum balls will take some time to break down. Composting gumballs may not result in the most attractive mulch, but the resulting compost is useful as a barrier against rabbits , slugs and other pests.
Why does sweet gum abort?
If a sweet gum is flowering when the chemical induces ethylene production, it responds by aborting the flowers.
When to spray sweet gum?
Timing is everything when you spray a sweet gum to prevent its fruits from forming. When the flowers appear in spring -- typically in April and May -- spray all the blooms with an ethylene growth regulator, such as ethephon. Typically, 1 quart of the chemical needs to be mixed with 10 gallons of water to make a spray.
How to stop fruit production from gum?
If your sweet gum is too tall to spray, or if you don't want to attempt spraying a small tree, you can stop fruit production by having a certified arborist administer a trunk injection. A tree that is a candidate for the injection must have a trunk at least 2 inches in diameter, and the tree cannot have received a spray or soil treatment within two ...
How tall does a sweet gum tree grow?
Because a sweet gum tree may grow 80 feet tall and hose-end sprayers typically have a maximum good-pressure range of up to 30 feet, spraying a mature sweet gum adequately is difficult for a homeowner. Advertisement.
How much water to mix to make sweet gum spray?
Typically, 1 quart of the chemical needs to be mixed with 10 gallons of water to make a spray. If you want a smaller quantity of the spray, mix 3 fluid ounces of the chemical with 1 gallon of water. Spray the sweet gum flowers until they're wet but not to the point the spray runs off the flowers.
Can sweet gum trees produce spiky fruit?
As a monoecious plant, a sweet gum bears male and female flowers. This means that only one tree is needed for the flowers to be pollinated, and a single tree can produce the spiky fruits even when another sweet gum tree is not in sight. A notable exception is "Rotundiloba" ...
Is sweet gum hardy?
Chemical treatments, however, can stop a tree's fruit production , which keeps the lawn free of that litter. Sweet gum is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 9. Advertisement.
What happens when you put sweet gum on a fire?
When you throw a piece of sweet gum on the fire you'll probably notice heavy smoke in the beginning before it fully ignites. Sweet gum firewood tends to give off a lot of smoke and it even has an unpleasant odor at times.
How many BTU's does sweet gum produce?
In fact, sweet gum will produce approximately 20.6 million BTU's per cord which isn't all that bad. The major concern with the wood is the amount of work and energy it takes to split it into usable sizes. Sweet gum firewood is hard to split......really hard.
Why do you store sweet gum under a roof?
Once the wood is split, store it under a roof or cover because sweet gum tends to rot quickly and produce mold when it's exposed to moisture.
Does sweet gum burn like pine?
Many people compare the burning qualities of sweet gum firewood to pine firewood except sweet gum does not contain the sticky sap that's associated with pine. It burns fast and hot and creates a lot of ashes.
Is sweet gum good for wood burning?
Sweet gum works good for the "shoulder seasons" when the outside temperatures are mild. Since the wood burns quickly and doesn't have good coaling qualities, mixing it with other hardwoods will give you better overnight results. Many people compare the burning qualities of sweet gum firewood to pine firewood except sweet gum does not contain ...
Can you burn sweet gum?
There are many people who choose not to burn sweet gum firewood. Since the wood is difficult to split and stack compared to other popular firewood types, some view it as a waste of time and energy. Firewood is a topic of many different opinions.
Is it hard to split sweet gum?
Sweet gum firewood is hard to split......really hard. Actually, it doesn't really split it just tears, shreds and twists its way apart. If you're going to split sweet gum, using a hydraulic splitter is the best way. Even with help from the splitter, handling sweet gum is time consuming.
