DescriptionDelivery & Guarantee
Sweet Gum / Alligator Tree - Liquidambar styraciflua
One of autumn's highlights, Liquidambar styraciflua looks gorgeous at any time of year. The rich brown young bark is unusually textured with corky scales and becomes ridged as it ages, giving it the common name Alligator Tree. Its other name, Sweet Gum, refers to the resin that is emitted when the tree is damaged, which is called styrax and has a pleasant odour. The star shaped foliage is a lush, glossy green in summer but the real surprise comes in autumn, when a stunning range of glowing reds and oranges engulfs the tree - it gets another name, the Red Gum tree, from this display. If you collect some fallen leaves, you will notice that they have kept the sweet aroma of the gum and a bundle of them in the garden shed will smell good for several weeks. Liquidambar styraciflua has very distinctive flowers in April-May, with yellow-green piles of male buds from which dangle whitish female flowers - these do tend to be hidden by the emerging leaves, however, so you may appreciate them best as cuttings in a vase. The female part matures into an outlandish seed ball that is covered in inward curling spines - you may well have seen them used in an ornamental pot-pourri. These decorate the tree well into winter and some birds will benefit from the seeds, if they can work out how to get at them. Top Tip: If you are having trouble with dogs and cats invading your flower beds, try covering them with a mulch of these prickly seed cases. The tree's heartwood is called satin walnut; it can be given an excellent polish and because it is also quite light, it is often used for making furniture. Sweet Gum Trees can grow to be quite big and need some space, though they won't reach their full size in the British climate.
Liquidambar styraciflua: Planting, Pruning and Caring for Your Trees:
Alligator Trees come from hot, swampy terrain and while they are hardy enough to be grown in urban areas throughout Britain (which are always slightly warmer than the countryside), they may struggle in exposed sites in the North, where late frosts can kill off the young leaves. They can also be reluctant to flower in colder regions, though this does mean that there won't be any seed cases for you to clean up. They like moist or wet soil, though they will survive in drier earth if it is rich enough, they are watered for their first couple of summers and given a bit of mulch every year to help preserve moisture. Liquidambar styraciflua will not tolerate alkaline or chalky soil and should only be planted in acid or neutral pH earth. It loves sun and we advise against planting it in anything more than very light shade. In Britain, a Sweet Gum Tree should not grow more than about 30 metres, 100 feet, but in its hot and humid native marshland it can be half as tall again.
Important Note: These trees hate having their roots disturbed. Your trees will come with a ball of earth around the roots to protect them - do not try to open it or loosen the roots in any way. It is always best to plant any type of tree as soon as possible after receiving them and this is especially true of Liquidambar. Sit the rootball in some water for half an hour before planting and then get it in the ground without delay. If it doesn't rain hard, aim to give the ground around it a thorough soaking once a week.
Read our full terms and conditions here.
Delivery: The basic delivery charge for orders of bareroot plants is £9.49 + vat, which increases to £12.55 + vat if you add any pot-grown plants, standard trees or fruit trees to the order.
Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
You can choose the delivery week that suits you during checkout and we will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.
Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.
Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.
Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week if there is no heavy rain.
Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.
Your 12 Month Guarantee
If any plants die within a year, we replace them if you have followed our instructions. You only pay for
the delivery of the replacements.
Place an order for £250 excluding VAT and delivery and we deliver it for FREE!
Bare-root Plants are only delivered in the winter season, from November to March. Pot grown plants can be delivered all year round
Advantages of Bare-root plants:
You pay less for the same size plants.
You can carry and plan them easily.
You only plant them in winter, so they need less maintenance after
planting. The rain will water them for their first few months.
You get the biggest selection: Many trees are not sold pot-grown.
They are "asleep" in winter - this is the best time to transplant any tree.
They use fewer fertilisers & fungicides, less water and fuel in their production & delivery.
Advantages of Pot Grown plants:
Pot grown plants can be delivered & planted all year round.
Plants with tender roots & larger specimens must be delivered in pots.
Plants in pots can be kept for months longer if there is a delay in planting.
Our Advice to You:
If you can't wait to get planting, order Pot grown plants now.
If you are not in a hurry, order bare-root plants for delivery this winter. Simply add them to your basket and choose a winter delivery date that suits you during checkout.
This will reserve your plants before they sell out.
We won't charge you until the day before delivery, so cancelling your order is always easy.
If you are only ordering chemicals and other small items, delivery is £3.50
Our delivery charge for most bareroot plants is £9.49 + VAT.
If your order contains any standard sized trees, fruit trees or pot-grown plants, then the delivery charge is £12.55 + VAT in TOTAL.
If you live in the Scottish Highlands or the Isle of Wight, there will be an extra charge of £15 + VAT on top of the appropriate basic charge, as listed above.
If your order is over £250 exc. VAT, there will be no delivery charge.
If you are uncertain, just add items to your basket which will calculate the basic shipping charge for you.
