Sweet Gum
Liquidambar styraciflua
Also known as
American Red Gum, American Sweet Gum, Bilsted, Copalm Balsam, Red Gum, Satin Walnut, American-Storax, Alligator-Wood, Red-Gum, Sweet gum, Liquidambar, Satinwood, Red gum, American sweet gum
Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) in Mellon Park, Pittsburgh 01 by Cbaile19 (CC0)
Full Sun
Moderate care
Moderate watering
Frost Hardy
H6
RHS hardiness
-20°C
Minimum temperature
Expected size
Height | Spread | |
|---|---|---|
12m | Max | 8m |
5m | Min | 5m |
Flowering
-
spring
-
summer
-
autumn
-
winter
This plant has a mild fragrance
More images of Sweet Gum
Sweet Gum Overview
A popular deciduous tree grown for their maple-like leaves with a serrated-margin, brilliant and long-lasting autumn colour. Their flowers and fruits are inconspicuous. It is often planted as an attractive border or hedge or to form beautiful avenues. It is a feature plant during autumn in any large garden providing shade in warm summers and allowing sun through bare branches in winter. After an injury to the stem, a red gum-like fluid appears that lead to the common name liquid amber.
Common problems with Sweet Gum
Problem free
How to harvest Sweet Gum
Harvest fruit in Autumn for seeds.
How to propagate Sweet Gum
Seed
Small 2 seeds within each capsule, from a spiked ball. Harvest the fruit in Autumn after they turned from green to dark brown. Allow fruit to dry (5 - 7 days) before planting.
Cuttings
Propagate by semi-hardwood cuttings. Keep moist while rooting.
Budding
Propagate by budding in spring or from seed in autumn.
Special features of Sweet Gum
Autumn colour
Orange, red or purple leaves cover the tree before it drops.
Hedge plant
Planted in rows acting as a wind breaker.
Attracts birds
Attractive leaves
Maple-like palmate leaves.
Other uses of Sweet Gum
Foliage, shade, timber. Intense scarlet, purple, and yellow autumn foliage.
Ornamental
Multi Stemmed Trees
With a little formative work these trees can be trained into multi- stemmed specimens.
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