Moraine Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Moraine’)

Excellent form and color! The Moraine Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Moriane’) makes a big splash! Add value to your property with this charming, fast-growing shade tree. Even compact trees can reduce cooling costs on a small lot. Use this beautiful tree to amp up the visual impact all year long.

The star-shaped leaves are a showy attribute in their own right all season long. It easily stands out with its boldly lobed leaves. Once the nights get cooler, the autumn color comes on in a brilliant display of bold red and warm yellows. Moraine Sweetgum will become a fiery focal point for your autumn garden. They become a glowing column of fall colors!

This medium-sized tree features a ship-shaped canopy that stays nicely uniform and trimmed. Even the textured, corky bark looks attractive through wintertime! Local birds and squirrels love the fascinating, persistent “gumball” fruit, and so do kids! Create a mulched bed underneath, and you’ll never have to worry about them in your lawn.

Going by many names depending on your region and also spelled Sweet Gum, the Moraine Sweetgum is the most cold-hardy variety and can be safely grown up to Zone 5. These gorgeous native tree cultivars are in high demand, as they grow faster than other varieties! Gorgeous branching and an upright form, these are strong-limbed trees that resist breaking. With rough-textured bark and a smoothly formal outline, the Moraine Sweet Gum is a study in contrasts.

Planting and Application:

The thick and glossy, these noteworthy leaves cast a relaxing, dense shade and help you maximize your entertainment area. Let this tree develop into its beautiful form, with plenty of room to reach mature height and spread. Please note that this tree may get larger in warmer climates in just the right growing conditions, casting loads of money-saving cooling shade. Naturalize it in a mulched bed, so you can fully appreciate its carefree nature!

Add a collection of wildlife shrubs of all sizes underneath. Plant Witch Hazel and Sweetspire on the north side, Viburnum and Bluebeard to the south and west. Play it up with the huge mophead blooms of Annabelle Hydrangeas on the east side of the planting. You will create an amazing songbird-friendly shelterbelt!

If you have a larger property, you can create an informal grouping of three or five trees. Use a loose, planting pattern and vary the width from 25 to 40 feet apart. They look fantastic on a raised berm, in naturalized-looking groupings, but will also work well along a creek or pond. Moraine Sweet Gum is suitable for the edge of planned Rain Gardens, as well!

If you want a specimen native tree to provide a romantic look in a Zen or Meditation Garden, add one all by itself. It will grow to create a natural playground for kids of all ages.

This versatile tree has such pretty leaves. For an effective privacy screen, consider keeping the lowest branches on the trunk for a bushier look.

• Beautiful, Star-Shaped Leaves
• Uniform, Pyramidal-Shaped Canopy
• Faster-Growing Than Other Varieties

Showy Red & Yellow Fall Color!

• Spectacular Bonsai Specimen & Great Tree for Modern Lots
• Supports Local Wildlife with Shelter & Food
• Shade, Specimen, Large Accent & Great Native Tree
• Used for Chewing Gum in the Past

Tips for Care:

Moraine Sweet Gum thrives in either full sun or partial shade. They need at least four hours of direct sunlight a day. These tough, native trees tolerates many soil conditions exceptionally well, including salt, alkaline, and clay. Its favorite soil is well-drained, moist, and slightly acidic. However, it is adaptable to average soils that drain well and can tolerate wetter soils and periodic drought for a short time.

Establish your tree with careful watering. Thereafter, water regularly to protect your investment. Apply a 3-4 inch layer of pine bark or pine straw mulch to young trees, and spread it three feet outside the canopy. Pull the mulch away from the tree trunk by six inches.

Use a slow-release fertilizer formula for acid-loving plants annually. Follow the application rate according to the directions on the label. Prune in spring, as needed to keep the canopy at your preferred height and remove any crossing or broken limbs.

• Grow in Full Sun or Partial Shade
• Tolerates Periodically Wet & Dry Well-Drained Soils
• Widely Adaptable to a Wide Range of Well-Drained Soil Conditions
• Pruning Best Done In Spring
• Pest Resistant, Salt & Clay Conditions
• Low-Maintenance Cold Hardy Native Sweet Gum Variety Cultivar

Let Moraine Sweetgum knock your socks off with their outstanding brilliant red fall color display, and enjoy the shade from green leaves all summer.