Plant Finder

Other Names:  American Sweet Gum

Description:

Truly an exclamation point in the landscape, this very narrow form is many multiples higher than it is wide; a stunning columnar tree perfect for articulation or garden accent; fall colours are a striking orange yellow and red

Ornamental Features

Slender Silhouette Sweetgum is primarily valued in the landscape for its rigidly columnar form. It has forest green deciduous foliage. The lobed palmate leaves turn an outstanding orange in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Slender Silhouette Sweetgum is a deciduous tree with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Slender Silhouette Sweetgum is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Vertical Accent

Planting & Growing

Slender Silhouette Sweetgum will grow to be about 50 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It has a high canopy with a typical clearance of 5 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 70 years or more.

This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species.