To say that sweetgum trees (Liquidambar styraciflua) are a favorite tree in the garden is going to be hit or miss with a lot of people. Sweetgum trees are well known for having some amazing fall color (which is why I love them) but also have a very polarizing downside: the seed balls! Sweetgum seed balls drop in the fall and layer the ground with a bunch of small sea urchins like balls. For anyone who has had to mow over them or walk around them it can be an ankle turning experience!
Native Value
Even with the negatives though sweetgum trees are an awesome native plant that fits into the Tennessee ecosystem. Many birds harvest seeds from those seed balls and nest in the trees. Their bright red to purple foliage is one of the most vibrant of fall color trees out there! While these trees aren’t for everyone I really enjoy them.
Collecting Seeds
Sweet gum trees can be grown easily from seeds that emerge from those seed balls. The key is to collect the seed balls when they have just dropped or in the fall when they are still green. I’ll set mine in a paper bowl on the counter top then I wait for them to be ejected from the seed ball when it opens. There is some chaff that also comes out that helps with the seed dispersal. The seeds look like very small samaras with a little bit of wing. When I say small I would estimate them to be around .5 to .75 cm in length.
Last fall I planted the sweetgum seeds I collected from some trees in a parking lot at our church. They are a tall slender variety, most likely ‘Slender Silhouette’ which produces fewer seed balls but grows in a natural cylindrical pattern. That makes it a good tree for parking areas where you need to squeeze a narrow plant in or they would make a good deciduous hedge row.
Since the seeds are open pollinated from monoecious trees (separate male and female flowers on the same plant) there is a very low likelihood that they will grow similar to the parent plant. In fact they will probably be a genetically diverse sweetgum tree. ‘Slender Silhouette’ trees are all genetic clones taken from the same tree that are propagated either by cuttings or grafting.
What’s Next for the Sweetgum Seedlings?
I’ve had the seedlings planted in the same pot all summer and kept them alive through the drought by bottom watering. Today I potted them all up in larger containers with a mixture of coir, compost, and fine bark shavings. While I did that I also potted up some ‘Green Giant’ arborvitae cuttings and an American beautyberry I rooted. I want these trees to grow larger before I plant them somewhere in the landscape. I’ll seed how large they are next spring then maybe I’ll put them in their forever homes. I want their root systems to fill up their new pots before I plant them in te ground. When I do finally plant them outdoors I’ll be sure to keep them away from walking areas or anywhere people will tend to frequent. They average around 75 ft tall so I’ll definitely want them off in the distance where I can enjoy their fall colors!
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