Wulfskaar's Liquidambars (Sweetgum) from seeds

[Wulfskaar]

Last fall, I grabbed a few Sweetgum spike balls and got a bunch of seeds out of them. I stratified for 2 months and planted.

Here is the progression so far.

Beautiful mother tree.


Jan 2021


Feb 2021


Mar 2021


Apr 2021


May 2021


June 2021


July 2021 (slip-potted into better soil)


Aug 2021


Sep 2021

 

[Wulfskaar]

Dec 2021

 

[Wulfskaar]

I have noticed that one of the trees has a yellow leaf and has red veins in the leaves. Could this be due to some kind of deficiency (iron or sulfur)???

All the other trees have nice green veins.

Healthier trees on left, red veins on right.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Genetic sport.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Genetic sport.

....causing a deficiency on that one side?

 

[Wulfskaar]

....causing a deficiency on that one side?

The discolored veins are spreading to the other trees. The initial one's leaves are now turning yellow and red, so I think the discoloration is just the leaves finally deciding to turn color for the fall. Mama tree has already lost 2/3 of it's leaves, so this one is just a bit late.

 

[Wulfskaar]

I just witnessed something really cool.

I heard what sounded like something crawling through the leaves under the mother sweet gum tree, like a snake or something. Then a light breeze gently blew the tree, which is extremely beautiful right now, and I noticed it was raining seeds! I could see them shimmering down like rain.

I also tossed in a pic of the young ones that are just now changing colors!

 

[hinmo24t]

Very cool

 

[Carol 83]

I just witnessed something really cool.

I heard what sounded like something crawling through the leaves under the mother sweet gum tree, like a snake or something. Then a light breeze gently blew the tree, which is extremely beautiful right now, and I noticed it was raining seeds! I could see them shimmering down like rain.

I also tossed in a pic of the young ones that are just now changing colors!

View attachment 412755View attachment 412757View attachment 412756

Wait until you step on one of those barefoot!

 

[Wulfskaar]

Quick update: 4/5 survived the "winter" and are doing great!

 

[Cajunrider]

Very cool progression!

 

[VAFisher]

Nice. Love sweetgums as bonsai. Hate the mess they make in the yard. I've had limited sucess with them but hope to have a nice one some day.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Here are the 4 survivors, repotted a few weeks ago and putting out leaves now. Not sure if I'll make a forest with a few more at some point or if I'll separate next year to let them grow. At any rate, they are still alive, so I'm happy about that!

1 year ago:


Now:

 

[Wulfskaar]

Here is a better view of the naturally curved trunks on a couple of them.

 

[Forrestford]

Nice, I would up-pot and let them grow. Given the freedom, they thicken up fast! Get them big and revisit the forest later. IMO.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Nice, I would up-pot and let them grow. Given the freedom, they thicken up fast! Get them big and revisit the forest later. IMO.

I may do that next spring. The new container is significantly larger and the soil is much better, but yeah, they will need to be pulled apart and left to grow.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Growing like crazy!

Question: They are growing some side branches, but they are not as vigorous as the growth on top. Should I be pruning the tops a bit, or at least thinning them out to get strong branching going now rather than waiting for later?

 

[ERClover]

How are these winding down into Autumn?

 

[Wulfskaar]

How are these winding down into Autumn?

Hi ERClover, some of the leaves, especially on one of the trees, are just starting to turn a purple-ish color. I'll definitely update this thread when they colors come in better.

Looking at my last pic there... they've also grown a bit since May as well.

 

[Wulfskaar]

How are these winding down into Autumn?

They are starting to turn this last week!