What are sweetgum trees good for?
Many of the medicinal properties of sweetgum are derived from the resinous sap that exudes when the outer bark of the tree has been damaged. The sap, known as storax, has been used for centuries to treat common ailments such as skin problems, coughs, and ulcers.
Is a sweet gum tree a good tree?
Sweet Gum trees are commonly used as ornamental trees, and/or landscaping. They are tall with a lovely ovular shape, commonly reaching heights of 70 feet or more. The height and shape make them great shade trees and beautiful additions to landscape.
What does a sweetgum tree look like in the fall?
Sweetgum usually grows in a very straight form which makes it a good species for lumber, furniture, musical instrument components and veneer. The beautifully glossy, star-shaped leaves turn bright red, purple, yellow, or orange in the fall (USDA hardiness zones 6 and 7) and early winter (USDA hardiness zones 8 and 9).
Is there a difference between a gum tree and a sweet gum tree?
Black Tupelo or Nyssa sylvatica is the most common true gum in North America and grows from Canada to Texas. Another common tree that is called a "gum" is sweetgum and is actually an entirely different tree species classification called Liquidambar. The fruit and leaves of sweetgum look nothing like these true gums.
Are sweet gum trees messy?
While some people find these fruits ornamental, most dislike them for the mess they cause when they drop. If you'd like to avoid the mess, look for the non-fruiting cultivar, Liquidambar styraciflua 'Rotundiloba'.
Can you mow over sweet gum balls?
Most lawn mower vacuum systems clog up with the sweetgum balls, and a standard mower shoots them out the sides of the mower deck, making them into fast-moving projectiles. Instead, use a pull-behind or self-propelled lawn vacuum or nut pickup system for cleaning up the spiky fruit.
Should I cut down my sweet gum tree?
Sweet gum trees become overbearing when their extensive root systems bulge from the ground and interfere with more favorable plants or home foundations. When this happens, homeowners choose to cut them down to avoid further damage.
Are sweet gum trees worth anything?
Despite the difficulties in their taxonomy, sweet gum trees are in fact widely distributed and well known, due to their varied uses by people. They are valued for their high quality timber and they produce fragrant resin (styrax).
What time of year do sweet gum trees produce fruit?
They tend to be about 1.5 inches in diameter and are yellow/green while still on the tree and dark brown in color once they fall, usually dropping in late winter/early spring. These fruits can litter the ground and are sometimes understood as a safety hazard. L.
Are sweet gum balls good for anything?
They can be used as mulch as well as a defense for plants. Many northeastern Oklahomans are bewildered to find their lawns covered by sweet gum balls - those spiked seed balls that are fired like golf balls when you try to mow them.
Can you eat sweet gum fruit?
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.
Do squirrels eat sweet gum balls?
Sweet gum balls start out plump and green, but they dry as they mature. The spines become even spinier, and holes open up to reveal seeds inside the balls. These seeds are food for about 25 species of birds, chipmunks and squirrels, says Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Should I remove sweet gum trees?
Their roots compete for soil nutrients and may cause damage to surrounding plants and trees. Killing your sweetgum tree and removing its root system saves gardening time by eliminating gumball litter and damaging property elements, such as your home's foundation or flowerbeds.
Do sweet gum trees have invasive roots?
Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) Sweet gum roots are highly invasive, often growing near the soil surface and damaging sidewalks, pavements, and other infrastructure. The species also produces prolific hard, round fruits that litter the ground and are often a tripping hazard.
What is the lifespan of a sweetgum 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.
How quickly do sweet gum trees grow?
Growth Rate This tree grows at a medium to fast rate, with height increases of anywhere from 13" to more than 24" per year.
What is round leaf sweetgum?
Roundleaf sweetgum has star-shaped leaves with rounded tips and can turn deep purple to yellow in the fall. Rotundiloba does well in USDA hardiness zones 6 through 10 so it can be planted throughout most of the Eastern states, the Western coastal states but has a problem in upper Midwestern states.
Where can I find sweetgum?
Little, Jr./U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service/Wikimedia Commons. Sweetgum grows from Connecticut southward throughout the East to central Florida and eastern Texas. It is found as far west as Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma and north to southern Illinois.
How many lobes does a sweetgum have?
Description: The star-like leaf has 5 or 7 lobes or points and turns from green in summer to yellow or purple in autumn.
Why is Sweetgum called Redgum?
Sweetgum is sometimes called redgum, probably because of the red color of the older heartwood and its red fall leaves.
Where can I find a sage plant?
It is found as far west as Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma and north to southern Illinois. It also grows in scattered locations in northwestern and central Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. 4. of 6.
Is Rotundiloba a good tree?
‘Rotundiloba’ is slowly but steadily being recognized as a superior tree to the species, especially for street tree use or near other pa ved surfaces, since it develops fewer typical burr-like sweetgum fruit.
Can sweetgum be transplanted?
It is a little tricky to transplant because of its coarse root system, but root-pruned or container-grown trees from nurseries establish readily. The tiny seeds germinate freely if stratified and surface-sown in spring..."
What is a Sweetgum Tree?
Sweetgums are straight, tall trees with a single trunk that reaches a height of 75 feet (23 m.) or more. These handsome trees have a pyramidal canopy when young that becomes rounded with age. They make excellent lawn or shade trees in large landscapes.
How big are the leaves of a sweet gum tree?
Sweet gum tree leaves have five to seven pointed lobes, and their shape will remind you of a star. Mature leaves are 4 to 7 inches (10 to 18 cm.) wide. Their fall color lasts much longer than most other trees.
What are the downsides of sweetgum trees?
The downside to growing a sweetgum tree is the seed pods. Children call them gumballs or stickerballs, and it’s rare to find a child with a sweetgum growing nearby that hasn’t had an unpleasant experience with the spiky pods.
Why are sweetgum trees invasive?
These are trees that can become invasive in an area because they take root easily from seeds and grow quickly, often excluding all other plants in the area. It’s best to plant them in maintained areas where you’ll be cleaning up the seed pods.
Do sweetgums like sun?
Sweetgums need a location in full sun or partial shade. They grow in almost any soil, from sandy to clay and from acid to slightly alkaline. They have a lot of shallow roots, but they also have some deep roots that prefer moist, deep soil. They tolerate winters in USDA plant hardiness zones 5 through 9.
Do gumballs need raking?
Although they don’t need much direct care, they add quite a bit to your fall landscape maintenance. They drop an abundance of leaves that need raking, and gumballs fall from the tree over a period of months. Because of the hazard they present and the potential to take root, you’ll want to keep them swept up.
Do sweetgums need fertilizer?
Once established, sweetgums need very little care. You don’t need to fertilize them every year, although they appreciate some general purpose fertilizer or compost every few years. The trees are drought tolerant and don’t need to be watered once mature.
Where does Sweetgum grow?
Sweetgum is native throughout Kentucky, except the Bluegrass. It grows in moist flat areas in association with pin oak or sycamore. The Kentucky champion tree is in Henderson County and is over 70 feet tall.
What is sweetgum balsam?
Montezuma shared xochiocotzoquahuitl (sweetgum) balsam with Cortés. Its genus name, Liquidambar, comes from the Latin liquidus (liquid) and ambar (amber) and refers to the bark's aromatic resin. Pioneer families used sweetgum as it has been used through the ages: for healing wounds, chewing, incense and perfumery. The resin was used in manufacturing drugs, soaps and adhesives during World War I and World War II.
When do sweetgum seed balls develop?
Spiky seed balls develop in autumn and persist through winter, swinging from branches on their long stems. Sweetgum has attractive bark appearing as corky scales in youth and becoming deeply furrowed with age. Culture: Sweetgum prefers deep, rich, moist, slightly acidic soil and full sun.
What is the most commercially important selection of sweetgum?
Shrub-like habit. ‘Oconee' - Is similar to ‘Gumball,' but it has a more rounded habit and better fall color. ‘Rotundiloba' - Leaves of this fruitless cultivar are lobed rather than pointed. This is the most commercially important selection of sweetgum.
How tall do sage trees grow?
Tree size: Grows fast in moist soil, slower in dry soil. Can reach a height of 60 to 75 feet with a spread of at least two-thirds the height at maturity; can reach 120 feet tall in the wild.
What color are starfish leaves?
Leaf: Starfish-shaped, glossy leaves, bright green with a sweet smell. On a single tree, leaves may be yellow, red and purple in fall.
Is Burgundy a winter hardy plant?
‘Brotzman #1' - Selected for its corky bark and winter hardiness. Burgundy™ - Good red to purple fall color, but may not be as winter hardy as the species. ‘Gold Star' - Variegated form of sweetgum with splotches of yellow over green.
What color are sweetgum leaves?
Deep, glossy green star-shaped leaves mark the Sweetgum. Leaves turn yellow-purple-red in the fall, and stay on the tree quite late. Its shape is pyramidal, becoming more rounded with age. Avoid polluted sites. Grows 60'-70', with a 45' spread. (Zones 5-9)
Where do sweetgum trees come from?
The Sweetgum tree is native to the southeastern United States and a member of a genus made up of only six species. The others are found only in Asia. The first historical reference to the tree comes from the author and soldier, Don Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who accompanied Cortez in 1519 and was a witness to ceremonies between Cortez and Montezuma, who both partook of a liquid amber extracted from a sweetgum tree. The tree itself was first noticed and recorded by the historian Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca in 1542. Once commercially popular for soaps, adhesives and pharmaceuticals, today its wood is valuable for fine furniture and interior finishing.
What zone does Sweetgum grow in?
The american sweetgum can be expected to grow in Hardiness Zones 5–9. View Map
How fast does a sage tree grow?
This tree grows at a medium to fast rate, with height increases of anywhere from 13" to more than 24" per year.
How many lobes does a sage have?
Features star-shaped leaves with 5 lobes (occasionally 7) that are lustrous medium green in color, toothed along the margins and 4–7½" in length.
What is the color of sapwood?
Color/Appearance: Wide sapwood is whitish to light pink or tan color, and is sometimes referred to as “sapgum” or “sweetgum.”. Heartwood is gray to reddish brown, and is commonly referred to as “redgum.”. Heartwood with darker black streaks is called “figured redgum.”.
Does sweet gum warp?
Sweetgum is known to warp and distort badly during initial drying. (After initial drying, distortion is significantly less, but the wood still experiences an appreciable amount of movement in service.) Turns, glues, stains, and finishes well. Responds moderately well to steam bending. Odor: No characteristic odor.
Does sweet gum cause skin irritation?
Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Sweetgum has been reported to cause skin irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
What is a sweetgum tree?
Email. David Beaulieu. American sweetgum are deciduous trees prized for their star-shaped leaves that turn a mix of brilliant fall colors. If you're afraid of the messy "gumballs," or seed pods, produced by many sweetgums, look for a non-fruiting variety of this popular tree.
What color are the leaves on a burning bush?
The leaves, which are five-lobed and shaped like stars, provide excellent fall foliage color. In some cases, at the peak of the fall foliage season, certain leaves may be red, others purple, others yellow, and still others orange (all on the same plant). On some trees, the branches are "winged," as on winged euonymus ( burning bush ), ...
What is the best tree to grow in the fall?
American sweetgum trees are moderate-to-fast-growing trees. But their best feature has to be their fall foliage color, which is not only rich, but also varied. You will appreciate the fact that you can get more than one autumn color on the same tree, which is also true of some maple trees. Another good feature of this plant is that its fall foliage develops rather late in the autumn (November in zone 5), meaning that it gives your landscaping color after the leaves of the sugar maples and red maples have dropped off their branches.
How tall is a rotundiloba?
Rotundiloba grows 60 to 70 feet tall. Its spread is about 30 feet at the base and narrows toward the top. Even a Rotundiloba may eventually produce a gumball here or there, but such a stray seed pod will be treated as a novelty rather than as a nuisance.
How tall is a formosana?
L. formosana: more drought-tolerant than most sweetgums; 40 to 60 feet tall and wide; zones 6 to 9. L. acalycina 'Burgundy Flush': burgundy-purple-bronze leaves; 50 feet tall and 25 feet wide; zones 6 to 8. L. styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette': columnar shape; 50 feet tall and only about 4 feet wide; zones 5 to 8.
How tall is Styraciflua?
L. styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette': columnar shape; 50 feet tall and only about 4 feet wide; zones 5 to 8
Can you grow American sweetgum in a woodland?
If you can't find the pod-less 'Rotundiloba,' but you still wish to grow American sweetgum trees, plant them in an area where you will not have to bother cleaning up the pods. For those with sufficient room on their properties, one option may be to incorporate sweetgum trees into woodland gardens .
What is the color of sweetgum?
Sweetgum leaves are star-shaped with five (sometimes seven) long, pointed lobes whose veins connect to a notched base. They range in color from green to yellow to deep red. The sweetgum produces greenish flowers covered with fine hairs, and its fruit resembles small "sticker balls" or "burr balls," which are eaten by birds and chipmunks.
What is a sycamore tree?
As a whole, sycamores are members of the genus Planatus, which is made up of species commonly known as plane trees. They are typically grown as ornamental trees, and sycamore wood is used to make furniture, boxes, and crates. 3. of 4.
How many lobes does a sycamore have?
Like maple leaves, sycamore leaves are divided into three to five shall ow lobes. However, when mature, those lobes extend beyond four inches in size. Like the sweetgum and the yellow-poplar, the sycamore has leaves that are alternate in arrangement.
What do yellow poplar leaves look like?
Yellow-poplar leaves are flat and slightly lobed and appear to be trimmed across the top, with two deeper lobes on either side of the midrib (the primary rib or central vein). This "trimmed" top helps distinguish the leaves from those of maples and sycamores. In profile, the leaves of the yellow-poplar actually look like tulips. For this reason, the tree is also known as the tulip tree. Leaves are typically greenish-yellow and sometimes orange.
What do maple leaves look like?
Like the maple tree, these species have leaves whose ribs or veins radiate out from a single stalk or petiole attachment in a palmate pattern (that is, the lobes resemble a set of fingers). Some people refer to these leaves as having a "star" form or a maple-like silhouette.
What kind of tree has maple leaves?
The leaves of a maple tree are very distinct, but that shape does not belong to maple leaves alone—a number of broadleaf trees have maple-like leaves. This list includes sycamore, yellow-poplar, and sweetgum trees. Like the maple tree, these species have leaves whose ribs or veins radiate out from a single stalk or petiole attachment in ...
Why are maple trees ornamental?
Because of their beautiful coloring, maples are often grown as ornamental trees. They are also, of course, used for their syrup, especially in North America where the maple leaf appears on the Canadian flag. 2. of 4.