Sweet gum.

I am not talking about Doublemint or Wrigleys but this sweet gum does have a juicy fruit! I am referring to Liquidamber styraciflua, common name American sweet gum. Its common name refers to the aromatic gum that oozes from wounds to the tree. I have always been intrigued by sweetgum as it has so many great attributes. Beautiful star-shaped deep green leaves turn shades of orange and yellow, even purple and red, in fall. The tree’s kaleidoscope of fall color reminds me of another fall favorite – Fothergilla. No wonder since they are both in the colorful witch hazel family. Sweetgum grows easily in full sun to part shade in moist, well-drained soil. And this is a tree that will be around for a while, living up to 150 years.

If there is fault to be found with this tree it could be the fruit, which is a round seed-filled spiky ball that drops in the fall. Many consider this messy and potentially painful (if the hard fruit is stepped on). In Michael Dirr’s entry for Sweetgum in his widely recognized Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs, it states “This lovely tree would be on every gardener’s wish list were it not for the woody, spiny, capsular, 1″ to 1 ½” diameter fruit, which abscise through fall and winter.” For this reason I have never used sweetgum but that is about to change. 

I recently redesigned a client’s entire front landscape. We started from scratch and removed everything that had become overgrown and unhealthy. The design vision was for a simpler color palette with clean lines. Next up are the entry gardens at the head of the driveway. It’s not a large area but I would like to make it simple and dramatic to hint at the property’s other gardens.  I am considering Liquidamber styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’. At only four feet wide this is a very narrow specimen which will work well in the location and, because it is so narrow, its fruit will drop in a smaller spot. Also, since it is at the end of a driveway, I’m not worried about people stepping on the spiky fruits. I think I will keep the tree’s underplanting simple. Since my client’s last name means “yellow”, maybe a carpet of Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’?

What do you think? Have you used ‘Slender Silhouette”?