Liquidambar styraciflua 'GOLD BEACON'

Sweetgums are highly ornamental trees or shrubs which have been on top of the popularity list for centuries. They come from North America and now can be found almost in the whole world: from colder parts of temperate regions to southern countries where summer temperatures regularly reach 40°C. Their give-away is star-shaped leaves which can easily be mistaken for maple leaves, and their autumn colours which are simply breathtaking.

Gold Beacon is a fantastic sweetgum selection with so called golden leaves which is an exaggerated name for bright yellow-green leaves that remain such for the entire growing season exactly like young twigs. The leaves are quite large – about 15 cm across, deeply lobed, and 100% resistant against sunscorch and fungi diseases. In autumn they change to deep garnet red and orange.

Its natural shape is pyramidal but can be clipped or trimmed in early spring to be kept smaller and in desired form. Once you give it a shape it does not usually go wild to spoil it for a long time. Another nice feature is the fruit. Formed in about 3 cm wide spiny spheres they can be quite attractive to look at and a bit irritating when stepped on barefoot once they have hardened up, if not cleared from pavements or lawns in spring. And lastly the bark on older branches and trunk is also something worth mentioning – it is deeply furrowed and looks like cork and also sounds very similar when you touch it.

Sweet gums are soil tolerant but prefer semi-fertile, deep, evenly moist but well-drained soil that should be acidic or at least neutral. It will not thrive on chalk or lime. Once established they can take both temporary flooding and drought. The more acidic and moist soil you can provide (by adding peat and mulching the roots with bark) the better autumn colours can be expected. The location should be sunny as it does not tolerate shaded areas. If you buy a plant taller than say 1.5m stake it well for minimum of 2 or rather 3 years. Plants older than 3 years are fully hardy to about -27°C (USDA zone 5).

Last update 20-05-2015