A native we do not grow
California Sycamore
Platanus racemosa. Large tree, 40 to 80 feet where planted, zones 7 to 10; full sun or part shade; dry, average or wet ground.
We do not grow California 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
| Other names | Western sycamore, California planetree |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 40 to 80 where planted; up to 116 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 50 |
| Zones | 7 to 10 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Wildlife value, street tree |
| Flowers | March to May |
| Fruit | Seed balls, June to December |
| Pollination | Needs a second, unrelated tree. Male and female flowers grow on the same tree. Its relative American sycamore sets few filled seeds from its own pollen, so plant a second one nearby. |
| Lifespan | The oldest tree dated by its rings was at least 188 years. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Stream banks |
| Native in | 1 state |
California sycamore is native in 1 state: California. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from the Wildflower Center and the Woody Plant Seed Manual.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it flowers and fruits, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of California sycamore's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Read from
Its figures come from the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, the Wildflower Center, Calscape, the California Invasive Plant Council, the Jepson eFlora and the International Tree-Ring Data Bank.