Sweet Gum Tree Spiky Balls

In abundance they can leave a lawn lumpy.

Sweet gum tree spiky balls. Burrs small rocks and yes sweet gum tree balls can cling to the fine hairs between the pads and injure the dog. The fruit it bears provides food for many animals including squirrels wood ducks whitetail deer birds and beavers. By mid fall the balls are dead and seedless. The winter buds are yellow brown one fourth of an inch long acute.

A fast growing tree the sweetgum offers plenty of shade while growing well in a vast range of soils and moisture levels. These compound seed capsules are often confused with the seed heads of the. Summer shade and vibrant fall leaf color are merits of the sweet gum tree liquidambar styraciflua. Round spiny fruits or balls that litter the ground making a simple walk across the yard a precarious one.

The only difference is sweetgum balls drop all fall and winter. Birth control injections for sweet gum trees. Just like leaves they must fall so the tree can prep for new growth. The one major flaw of this deciduous tree is the hundreds of spiny woody.

Sweet gum is banned in some places for this reason. The spiky clusters are actually balls of fruit with tiny seeds inside that birds and squirrels snack on. However the search is long overdue. The tradeoff for these perks is a source of aggravation for some gardeners.

Additionally the sweet gum s spiky gum balls hang conspicuously from the tree s smaller branches sometimes all winter. The inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot becoming half an inch long green tipped with red. Let s not forget about the beauty of the sweet gum ball tree itself. For instance yesterday i finally looked up tree with spiky balls yeah i giggled a little inside at the search terms.

The long persisting fallen spiked fruits can be unpleasant to walk on. On our typical route there are 3 trees that bear these weird little balls. I ve twisted my ankle on them. This large tree provides shade in the summer gorgeous orange red and yellow leaves in the fall and is a great privacy barrier.

According to the lazy landscaper these hard brown spiky balls that can create some serious hazards.