Black Gum (Tupelo)
Nyssa sylvatica Large tree Zones 4–9 40–70 ft
Shares floodplain forests, old fields and edges, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Sweetgum
Liquidambar styraciflua. Large tree, 60 to 131 feet, zones 5 to 9; full sun or part shade; dry, average or wet ground.
We do not grow sweetgum, 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 | American sweetgum, redgum, sapgum, bilsted, star-leaved gum, alligator-tree, red sweet gum, opossum-tree |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 60 to 131 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 75 |
| Zones | 5 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value, salt tolerant, erosion control |
| Flowers | March to May |
| Fruit | Seed balls, September to November |
| First crop | 20 to 30 years (some trees have fruited 4 and 5 years after planting) |
| Pollination | Needs a second, unrelated tree. Male and female flowers grow on the same tree, but a tree's own pollen sets almost no seed, so a seed crop wants another sweetgum nearby. |
| Lifespan | Lives up to 300 years. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on sweetgum says: "Transplanting is difficult due to a shallow, fleshy root system." |
| Planting season | Spring |
| Black walnut | Tolerant, on the Morton Arboretum's list as “sweet-gum” |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, the coast, old fields and edges, swamps and wet flats |
| Native in | 26 states and the District of Columbia |
Sweetgum is native in 26 states and the District of Columbia: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. 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 California, where it is naturalized, not native.
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 sweetgum's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
American Elm
Ulmus americana Large tree Zones 2–9 60–80 ft
Shares floodplain forests, old fields and edges, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Blueberry Hawthorn
Crataegus brachyacantha Small tree Zones 4–9 20–50 ft
Shares floodplain forests, old fields and edges, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Sugarberry
Celtis laevigata Large tree Zones 5–10 50–80 ft
Shares floodplain forests, old fields and edges in the wild.
Northern Catalpa
Catalpa speciosa Large tree Zones 4–8 40–70 ft
Shares floodplain forests, old fields and edges in the wild.
Willow Oak
Quercus phellos Large tree Zones 5–9 40–75 ft
Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
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 a study in Forest Science.