Q. What is the name of the tree that drops thousands of pokey seed balls all over the sidewalk every winter? I’ve almost broken my ankle on them! How can I get rid of the balls without getting rid of the tree?
A. The Liquidambar, the American Sweet Gum, is the name of the tree that produces the annoying seedpods that are spiny and brown in color. It’s an elegant, columnar tree with large maple shaped leaves that provides beautiful fall color. Unfortunately, their popularity is declining because of the nuisance they create and the problematical surface roots. The seedpods of the Liquidambars start to drop as the fall color fades and the leaves fall. This shedding continues until the new foliage emerges in the spring. You avoid this problem by spraying the tree with Florel Fruit Eliminator by Monterey Lawn and Garden when it is in bloom. Yes, Liquidambar trees do flower. The flowers aren’t particularly attractive and the seedpods develop as a result of pollination. Fortunately, the seedpods are sterile; otherwise, you’d have hundreds of new seedling trees each year. Liquidambars produce individual male and female flowers just as the new leaves are emerging. The flowering cycle should begin around the first week in March, so be on the look out for it. The female flower is a greenish color and circular in shape, while the male flower is shaped more like a tassel. They eventually fall off creating a short-term mess within a couple of weeks of opening. The female flower is an incomplete flower, as it has no sepal or petals. After fertilization, the light green seedpods develop in clusters. They usually quite heavy that cause some of the immature branches to be permanently bend. As they mature they become very light and airy. Once formed, you can manually remove the seedpod clusters but this is a tedious task. Hence, aborting the formation by spraying the flowers with Florel is advantageous. Florel is not an insecticide, fungicide or miticide. It’s a plant growth regulator that prevents the formation of the seedpods. It is also applied to Olive, Flowering Plum, Crabapple trees and others that produce a messy fruit. Florel is widely available at independent garden centers and other lawn and garden retailers. Again it’s critical that Florel is applied when the tree is in bloom. Several applications are necessary as the flowers open progressively over several weeks. Mother Nature can help by rainy during the flowering cycle. I’ve been successful controlling about eighty percent of the problem by applying Florel with a hose end-sprayer. Today, reaching the top of a mature tree is a problem even with a ladder.
Note: You’ll find images of the flowers on my web site www.dirtgardener.com. The link is at the bottom of the home page is the right hand corner.
Buzz Bertolero is Executive Vice President of Navlet’s Garden Centers and a California Certified Nursery Professional. His web address is www.dirtgardener.com and you can send questions by email at dirtgarden@aol.com or to 360 Civic Drive Ste. ‘D’, Pleasant Hill, Calif. 94523.
Leave a Reply