How quickly does a black gum tree grow?
In cultivation, blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), sometimes called black tupelo, sourgum, or pepperidge, grows fairly slowly – often about a foot per year – and usually has a broadly pyramidal shape. Black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica var.
What is another name for a black gum tree?
A tree of many monikers, the black tupelo is also known in various areas as a gum tree, sour gum, bowl gum, yellow gum or tupelo gum. Still others call it beetlebung, stinkwood, wild peartree or pepperidge. The black tupelo tree, also known as the sour gum, is the oldest living non-clonal flowering plant in eastern North America, having existed since 1448. Though slow-growing compared to some trees, black tupelo can grow between 12 and 24 inches per year and reach up to 100 feet tall.
What are the disadvantages of the black gum tree?
Black Gums make an excellent landscape tree but are difficult to propagate and transplant due to the long, deep taproots that saplings develop. Black Gums are tolerant of a range of soils from wet to dry and even tolerate short-term flooding in spring and compacted urban soils. Black gum wood is used for veneer, plywood, boxes, pulp, tool handles, gunstocks, docks, and wharves. Bees make good honey from black gum blossoms. The fruit is edible but sour and has a large seed; some people eat them or make them into preserves.Known by its scientific name, Nyssa sylvatica, the black gum prefers moist well-drained, acidic soil in full sun to partial shade. It naturally occurs in forested seasonal wetlands and swamps and in upland woods and slopes that are seasonally flooded.