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Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 5-9
- Spacing: 4-8'
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Deer Resistant: Yes
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CAUTION: Slender Silhouette Sweetgum is a whiplash-inducing tree. Plant at your own risk! You won’t find anything quite like this fun, quirky tree. Slender Silhouette rises to 60 feet in height, like any Sweetgum, but it only gets 6 feet wide. No, that’s not a typo! In fall, this tree trades its green leaves for the typical Sweetgum kaleidoscope of purple, red, orange, and yellow. Slender Silhouette is a fast-growing tree that’s easy to maintain. It does produce those spiky “gumballs,” but politely drops them in a tidy circle, where you can easily gather them up. Plant a single specimen to express your sense of humor, or plant a row along your property line for a cool, super-skinny screen.
Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 5-9
- Spacing: 4-8'
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Deer Resistant: Yes
- Show more ›
The Story
Fourth-generation nurseryman Don Shadow is always on the lookout for plants doing interesting things, but he wouldn’t have had to be an expert plantsman to notice this guy—the original Slender Silhouette was 60 feet tall and only 3 feet wide when he found it growing by the railroad tracks. Don also has a passion for unusual animals and raises 60 different species (several of them endangered) on his Winchester, Tennessee farm. Ever heard of an eland? A gayal? He’s also got camels, buffalos, wallabies, alpacas, yaks—even a zonkey!
The Details
The star-shaped leaves gives this Sweetgum away. Never thought you could plant one in your small space? Think again! This Sweetgum is a narrow grower, hence the Slender Silhouette name. The same gorgeous fall color and the same spiky gumballs appear in fall, just a more slender specimen. Perfect for smaller yards, narrow spaces or specimen planting.
How to Grow
Sweetgums are really fast growing and best recognized by their star-shaped leaves. You might also recognize their spiky ball-shaped seedpods, you usually see them scattered on the ground – a good reason not to plant this tree along a sidewalk or by your patio. Sweetgums like to be planted in full sun and they are really tolerant of all soil conditions. This is one easy-to-grow tree! After you initially plant your Sweetgum, be sure to keep it watered for the first few years. This helps your tree become established in your garden. Another thing you could do to help your tree is to fertilize about once a year for the first few years. Give your Sweetgum an application of medium rate fertilizer, preferably in fall. As your tree grows, you might need to prune off some of the lower branches if they are growing too low on the trunk, this is what I like to call “limbing up” your tree. Sweetgums are almost pest-free. Some common pests are borer and webworm. Most of the time when a pest problem occurs, it is because the tree has become stressed. Proper tree care and maintenance will usually rule out most future problems with insects or diseases.
More Info
Size Guide
Scale
Size B
This graphic shows the approximate size and form of the Tree you are viewing.
Size B Trees:
10-12' tall. Slender growing Sweetgum. Narrow branching, less than 3' wide in this size with caliper over 1 1/2" grown in our #15 tree container. A personal favorite of our founder!
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