Sweetgum Trees?

Question

Please tell all the bad things about Sweetgum tree. Is this tree worth keeping?

I just bought a house that has a young sweetgum tree in the front yard. I like to know if I should keep it or dig it up?

Answer 1

It's worth saving if at all possible. Sweetgums are great during the summer with their dense leaves and they turn a great color as soon as the cool weather starts in the fall.

Answer 2

Sweetgums are aromatic, meaning they have a pleasant smell. You can crush a leaf to get a good sense of this.

Bark of Sweetgums is gray and has deep furrows (little ditches).

Sweetgum flowers are tiny, greenish, and ball-like. They grow in clusters.

Fruits are spiky green balls that turn brown with age. They are a little over an inch wide, and dangle on a long stalk. Each ball has prickly points that open to let seeds out. Two winged seeds come from each hole.

Seeds are mostly spread by the wind

Answer 3

according to the scoring that is on various answers, mine is not going to get me a 10 point best answer.

There is more than one type of Gum tree and all of them are a pain.

The wood, though not totally useless, is used to make the support structure for stuffed furniture. It cannot be used for fire week because it simply will not split. They spit out their seeds all over the place and it appears that some of them take root before they hit the ground. If you find a green, tight, gum ball, let it dry out and open up and see how many seeds come out of that monsterous thing - zillions, no bigger than a pin head.

The gum with the best uses is the black gum, an indian toothbrush. The wood does not split, but it will instead, with a little pressure put on the end of a twig, brush out and it is used by many people, indians, applachians, etc as a tooth brush or a dip stick to use snuff with.

Any gum tree means it is time for the chain saw.

Answer 4

Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), also called redgum, sapgum, starleaf-gum, or bilsted, is a common bottom-land species of the South where it grows biggest and is most abundant in the lower Mississippi Valley. This moderate to rapidly growing tree often pioneers in old fields and logged areas in the uplands and Coastal Plain and may develop in a nearly pure stand. Sweetgurn is one of the most important commercial hardwoods in the Southeast and the handsome hard wood is put to a great many uses, one of which is veneer for plywood. The small seeds are eaten by birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. It is sometimes used as a shade tree.

Habitat
Native Range
Sweetgum grows from Connecticut southward throughout the East to central Florida and eastern Texas. It is found as far west as Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma and north to southern Illinois. It also grows in scattered locations in northwestern and central Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

ADVANTAGES N DISADVANTAGES
I think the advantages outweight the disadvantages with these. A sweetgum nearby and one in my yard survived Frances with practically no damage or leaf loss.
the roots may cause problems to underground pipes down the road. They are fast growers but take a long time to get a full bushy appearance so that you can't see right through them.
More importantly I think your tree selection should be based on what you are trying to acheive and what type of landscape you are going for. Fast growing shade trees are one thing but a well planned landscape is something that takes time and research or it requires hiring someone to do it.
People make a big fuss about their seed balls, but I think the issue is exaggerated. Every tree has its messy side.
If you live in the black and white clay soil like we have in N. Texas I would not recommend Sweet Gum. I have seen more trees in trouble that I have seen doing well. They hit the limestone we have here and go south quickly.

Answer 5

The sweetgum tree has beautiful foliage in the fall. Other than that I can find no redeeming features for them.

Here in Georgia they grow rampantly.
They're extremely tall and ungainly looking. Not a very well shaped tree.
They drop sweetgum balls that are round and prickly. If you step on them they can roll under your feet and cause you to lose balance and fall.
The seeds from the balls grow seedlings everywhere.

Answer 6

If this tree is large apart from the shade it is probably increasing the value of you property. Cut it down and you could be ruining the whole look of your house. For the effort I'd keep it . I've got 5 in my front yard and every body loves them. Winter colour is breathtaking. Every tree has its downside.

For people wanting to plant a liqidamber but don't want the balls, you can apparently buy a male tree and the variety liquidamber rotitunda (I'm not sure if the spelling is correct) is said to have very few. Liquidamber Formosa is very prone to wind damage when it gets to a reasonable size. Hope you keep the tree

Answer 7

Sweet Gum Tree Facts

Answer 8

Sweet Gum Tree Uses

Answer 9

The Sweetgum is a large tree, growing up to 100 feet tall. It has a straight trunk, up to three feet wide.

Sweetgums grow in woods and along streambanks and lakes. Young Sweetgums are pioneer plants, growing quickly and taking over a field.

Sweetgums are easy to identify by their leaves. Leaves are star-shaped with five pointy lobes, and a long stalk. Fully grown leaves are about six inches long, and bright green

Answer 10

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Sweetgum Trees?
Please tell all the bad things about Sweetgum tree. Is this tree worth keeping?

Answer 11

Try to imagine a large tree where the little one is now. Will you be ok with its location when it's big? They are very lovely in the fall with lots of color. They are good in cities as their roots don't push up sidewalks like some trees do. The only negative thing I think of is that they produce some prickley seed pods that can be a little messy in the yard, but if you don't mind that clean-up and you like the location, I'd keep it! Good Luck!