Silver King Sweetgum
Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 5-9
- Spacing: 15-20'
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Deer Resistant: Yes
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Silver King Sweetgum (or “Sweet Gum”) is a fresh take on our beloved native Sweetgum tree, with many of the great features of the original, plus white-margined variegated leaves. This noble shade tree will afford you some cooling relief from the summer sun and give you a nice spot for a picnic table or outdoor sitting area. When frosty weather begins to move in, Silver King’s foliage will turn muted shades of rose and yellow, while keeping that crisp white border. Finches will love the seeds they pick out of the spiky fruits, or “gumballs,” in winter, and the crafter in your family will also appreciate the gumballs, which look striking in dried arrangements.
Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 5-9
- Spacing: 15-20'
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Deer Resistant: Yes
- Show more ›
The Story
Sweetgum is a New World tree with an expansive natural range from Connecticut to Missouri and South to Central America, though the fossil record indicates that before the last Ice Age, it also grew in Siberia and Northern Europe. A fantastic ornamental tree, it has done even more globe-trotting with the help of humans. No one seems to know when or where or by whom the variety ‘Silver King’ was found, though the presence of some rather large specimens in Europe hint that it might be traced to there—Mid-Twentieth Century?
The Details
The good ol' Sweetgum is unique enough, but now this cultivar is simply spectacular! The same star-shaped foliage and corky bark as the native species - only this stunner has variegated leaves. Green foliage with creamy white margins! As summer ends, you will notice a flush of pink come over the leaves - quite a unique coloring. Silver King Sweetgum stands up to the heat well and will produce the best foliage color in full sun.
How to Grow
Green chlorophyll in leaves is what makes trees grow, so the smaller proportion of green in Silver King’s foliage makes it slower growing than other Sweetgums. You’ll want to care for it the same as any other, though: Don’t be stingy with the irrigation, and give it all the sun you can. Do Mountain Laurels and Rhododendrons grow wild in your area? If so, you have acid soil, and your Sweetgum will be pleased. Shallow roots prevent extensive underplantings, so stick with a skirt of mulch or drought-tolerant groundcovers.
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