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American Sweet Gum

Liquidambar Styraciflua

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Overview

The American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) thrives in zones 5-9, reaching up to 60-75 feet tall with a 40-50 feet spread. Notable for its star-shaped leaves and vibrant fall colors, it prefers full sun and moist, well-drained soil. Its spiky gumballs can be a maintenance issue. Provides excellent shade but root system can disrupt pavements. It's deciduous, with a moderate to fast growth rate.

Sun FullWater MediumZones 7–10Type TreeClimate Temperate

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — contributing to its name and lending a sweet; the American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), image 147

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — Provides excellent shade but root system can disrupt pavements; is a captivating deciduous tree, image 80

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — this tree presents a pyramidal form in its youth that becomes more rounded with maturity; it thrives in full

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — Notable for its star-shaped leaves and vibrant fall colors, it prefers full sun and moist, image 128

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — tolerating even clay soils; with a canopy spread of 40 to 50 feet, image 116

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — Notable for its star-shaped leaves and vibrant fall colors, it prefers full sun and moist, image 28

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — balsamic aroma to the garden space.<br><br>In choosing the American Sweet Gum for a landscape; growing to an

Culture

Sun: Full
Water: Medium
USDA zones: 7–10

Shape & size

Classification

Type: Tree
Family: Hamamelidaceae
Climate: Temperate

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Photos (170)

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — contributing to its name and lending a sweet; the American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), image 147

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — Provides excellent shade but root system can disrupt pavements; is a captivating deciduous tree, image 80

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — this tree presents a pyramidal form in its youth that becomes more rounded with maturity; it thrives in full

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — Notable for its star-shaped leaves and vibrant fall colors, it prefers full sun and moist, image 128

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — tolerating even clay soils; with a canopy spread of 40 to 50 feet, image 116

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — Notable for its star-shaped leaves and vibrant fall colors, it prefers full sun and moist, image 28

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — balsamic aroma to the garden space.<br><br>In choosing the American Sweet Gum for a landscape; growing to an

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — It thrives in full sun, requiring at least six hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight per day, image 142

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — reaching up to 60-75 feet tall with a 40-50 feet spread

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — with a canopy spread of 40 to 50 feet; this tree presents a pyramidal form in its youth that becomes, image 59

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — Provides excellent shade but root system can disrupt pavements; is a captivating deciduous tree renowned for its

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — Its star-shaped leaves are a luscious green throughout spring and summer; clients will enjoy a majestic tree

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — contributing to its name and lending a sweet; the American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) thrives in zones

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — It's deciduous, with a moderate to fast growth rate; which adds a textural element to the landscape during the

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — clients will enjoy a majestic tree with year-round interest and a vivid seasonal display; but the, image 124

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — ensuring there is ample space for growth.<br><br>The tree's fruit; provides excellent shade but root, image 94

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — ensuring there is ample space for growth.<br><br>The tree's fruit; provides excellent shade but root, image 69

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — Growing to an impressive height of 60 to 75 feet; notable for its star-shaped leaves and vibrant fall colors, it

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — tolerating even clay soils; with a canopy spread of 40 to 50 feet, image 91

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — The American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) thrives in zones 5-9; its spiky gumballs can be a, image 51

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — Its spiky gumballs can be a maintenance issue; tree for full, image 129

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — Its spiky gumballs can be a maintenance issue; tree for full, image 54

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — clients will enjoy a majestic tree with year-round interest and a vivid seasonal display; but the, image 74

American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) — is a captivating deciduous tree renowned for its stunning fall coloration and distinctive spiky, image 57

Photographs by 11 contributors

vastateparksstaff, CC BY 2.0 · source
Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 · source
Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C.,…, CC BY 2.0 · source
Tournasol7, CC BY 4.0 · source
Scott Robinson (Clearly Ambiguous) from Rockville, CC BY 2.0 · source
Virginia State Parks staff, CC BY 2.0 · source
and (c)2016 Derek Ramsey ( Ram-Man…, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Plant Image Library from Boston, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
sonnia hill, CC BY 2.0 · source

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