# American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

> American sycamore, Platanus occidentalis: a large tree of 59 to 121 feet for zones 4 to 9, how fast it grows, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/american-sycamore/

![American sycamore limb with mottled white bark and round brown seed balls hanging from bare twigs against blue sky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/american-sycamore-1000.jpg?v=827e5057 "An American sycamore in Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC, on February 25, 2017. Its seed balls ripen in the fall and often hang on the tree over winter.")
*Photo: Katja Schulz, [CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APlatanus_occidentalis_(32318633413).jpg))*

Large tree, 59 to 121 feet, zones 4 to 9; full sun or part shade; dry, average or wet ground.

We do not grow American sycamore, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.

## At a glance

| Fact | American Sycamore |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Buttonwood, American planetree, planetree, buttonball tree, eastern sycamore |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 59 to 121 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 100 |
| Zones | 4 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Wildlife value, hedge or screen, winter interest |
| Flowers | March to May |
| Fruit | Seed balls, September to May |
| First crop | 6 to 7 years (open-grown trees; dense stands from about 25) |
| Pollination | Needs a second, unrelated tree. Male and female flowers grow on the same tree, but a lone sycamore sets few filled seeds from its own pollen, so plant a second one nearby. |
| Lifespan | Lives up to 500 years, and the oldest dated one reached 412. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on American sycamore marks it as one that transplants well. |
| Black walnut | Tolerant, on the Morton Arboretum's list as “sycamore” |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, stream banks, rich moist slopes, old fields and edges |
| Native in | 34 states and the District of Columbia |

American sycamore is native in 34 states and the District of Columbia: [Alabama](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AL), [Arkansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AR), [Connecticut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CT), [Delaware](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DE), [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL), [Georgia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=GA), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Indiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IN), [Iowa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IA), [Kansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KS), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Maine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ME), [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD), [Massachusetts](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MA), [Michigan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MI), [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS), [Missouri](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MO), [Nebraska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NE), [New Hampshire](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NH), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [Ohio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OH), [Oklahoma](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OK), [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), [Rhode Island](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=RI), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX), [Vermont](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VT), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA), [West Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WV), [Wisconsin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WI) and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in [Washington](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WA), where it is naturalized, not native.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=american-sycamore): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=american-sycamore): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=american-sycamore&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=american-sycamore): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=american-sycamore): the planting-window tool
- [When it flowers and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=american-sycamore): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=american-sycamore): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=american-sycamore:2): the pollination planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=american-sycamore): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=american-sycamore): the tree age estimator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=american-sycamore): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Slippery Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/slippery-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus rubra*): medium tree, 40 to 70 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, rich moist slopes, old fields and edges in the wild.
- [Littlehip Hawthorn](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/littlehip-hawthorn/index.html.md) (*Crataegus spathulata*): small tree, 10 to 26 feet, zones 5 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, rich moist slopes, old fields and edges in the wild.
- [Devil's Walking Stick](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/devils-walking-stick/index.html.md) (*Aralia spinosa*): small tree, 10 to 20 feet, zones 4 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, rich moist slopes, old fields and edges in the wild.
- [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus americana*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, old fields and edges in the wild.
- [Sugarberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sugarberry/index.html.md) (*Celtis laevigata*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 5 to 10. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, old fields and edges in the wild.
- [Northern Catalpa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-catalpa/index.html.md) (*Catalpa speciosa*): large tree, 40 to 70 feet, zones 4 to 8. Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, old fields and edges in the wild.
- [Every companion of American sycamore in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=american-sycamore)

## Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, UF/IFAS Extension, the US Forest Service and Virginia Tech's dendrology site.