Tree Talk: Blackgum
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- This episode of Tree Talk, we discuss the mighty, long-living Nyssa sylvatica. The blackgum, or tupelo, is an interesting hardwood tree with historical significance, and is an early indicator of autumn.
Join us at forestsforthebay.org for more forestry information!
Filmed and edited by Allyson Wells.
I really enjoy learning about the trees, and like they way you include some technical jargon & explain what the words mean. It makes me happy to learn more about the world all around me!
Thanks so much, Scott! We feel the same way about trees, and are abundantly happy to share! :)
I really love the form of this tree! It reminds me of a pine with the horizontal branching, but it turns such beautiful colors in late summer.
Very informative ! Thank you for the knowledge .
My dad once planted a black gum near a sweet gum tree. We always laughed about that. Both were great trees, although the sweet gum grew a bit faster than the black gum.
Great explanation 👍
Nice video. Fun and informative. Now, good ol' D. C. Peattie says that a variant is predominant in Appalachia -- Nyssa sylvatica var. caroliniana, that some people call the Yellow Gum, instead of the Black Gum. (Trees of Eastern and Central N America, page 500.) Peattie wrote that in 1948 but I've never heard anyone use the term Yellow Gum. Peattie says the caroliniana leaves are thinner and less glossy. He says Black Gum is a swamp tree and Yellow Gum is the dry land tree that you find in southern Appalachian coves. Here in East Tn, up in the mountains, you see a LOT of mostly smaller ones in dry coves, that I'm guessing are caroliniana. The leaves look like the same leaves you were looking at. I'm guessing you had a caroliniana there, but I'm not at all sure. Oh, also, Yellow Gum can be split but the Black Gum can't, because its fibers are both interbraided and crosswoven. So some timbermen would pass off Yellow Gum for Yellow Poplar at the saw mills.
I've never heard any of that before, thanks for the fun facts!!!
Thanks for the video! Planted a "wildfire" black gum tree this spring. Guess it's a cultivar that was developed so that it has red leaves upon leaf-out. Tree tag says that it lives 70 years or more, but apparently the native black gums can live considerably longer than that. Is there a reason why a cultivar such as the "wildfire" would be so much shorter in lifespan compared to a native variety? Thanks for the info, and keep up the good work. (BTW, also planted a sugar maple so would love one of your episodes for that)
You're very welcome!!
And that's interesting. Maybe the nursery has categories of tree ages, and everything that lives longer than 70 years gets bundled together? Who knows!!
But we actually recorded a sugar maple episode last month!! I'm working on the production for a different one (white birch!) now, but plan on putting out the sugar maple one next! Stay tuned! :)
Wood carvers like black gum also called Tupelo!
Their fruits seem to be great for wildlife and I'm curious at what age these trees typically start producing fruit but I haven't been able to find that information online, would you happen to know?
Your channel is great, I've been learning a lot from it
I'm not sure and can't find any information myself either, sorry! My guess is that they don't start producing fruit for decades though, based on their long lifespans and understory habit.
And thanks!!
I was wondering if it is easy to grow these from a cutting? If so, what is the process to get the best strike rate?
I had a couple trees on sale near me and I had the choice of a black gum which grow slowly or sycamore which I know grow super fast. I figured the black gum would take much longer to grow from seedling size (which I can buy both of these two trees cheap through our local state nursery). How slow do these trees grow? The one I purchased is probably 4 feet. How old do you feel the two you showcased in your video are? Unrelated but I actually planted 300 trees (swamp white oak, bald cypress and sweetgum) and 150 shrubs in a reforesting project on a couple acres of my property and am also planting an acre of prairie grasses to replace part of my turf lawn. For the trees would you happen to know how many years I should provide weed control? Also wondered if you had any tips on how to prevent deer from decimating them.
Great questions!!
In my experience planting blackgum, they are on the slow side, growing around a foot a year in full sun. But why rush if you live 600+ years I guess ;).
As far as the ones in the video, that's really hard to say. Tree size is determined by a huge number of factors, and of those age isn't really a very strong predictor. The smaller one may have even been the same age as the larger one! It's really hard to say. That site was on a dry, rocky, ridge, so the trees there probably grow pretty slowly. Those large trees formed the canopy when I was hiking by, but they could have been growing slowly in the shade for decades or longer before being "released" by bigger trees being harvested. Sorry that's not a very satisfying answer! If I was to guess the age of the canopy trees to win a prize or something, I'd say maybe 150 years.
It's wonderful that you're reforesting part of your property!! The first few years are a CRITICAL time for establishment maintenance. I recommend mowing between trees a few times a year for the first 5 years. Maintaining a space of a few feet around each tree that is free of vegetation is really helpful too, as it reduces the odds of rodent damage. You may have to keep this establishment care up until year 10 or so, but I'm willing to wager that you'll have enough shade at that point to smother the understory grasses, especially with species like sweetgum and bald cypress that grow very quickly. Deer protection is a must in most areas. Even if you rarely see deer, it only takes one to completely destroy a planting. Here's an article by a buddy of ours who has a successful forest planting on his own farm: www.gettingmoreontheground.com/2013/02/21/tree-shelters-are-they-worth-it-and-if-so-when-should-they-be-removed/
And on that note, here are a few more links that may help you on your way to a successful reforestation project: chesapeakeforestbuffers.net/ and www.allianceforthebay.org/our-work/key-program-focuses/building-stewardship/pennsylvania-riparian-forest-buffer-program/
Keep up the great work!!! And feel free to reach out if you have any more questions!!
@@forestsforthebay4784 wow fantastic comment! Very very helpful. I honestly can't think of a cheap or practical means to control the deer as I don't have a ton of free time... Enough for spraying and planting essentially. I think my most concern is lack of rain we've had the last two weeks
@@Deppizzymo we're happy to help! Yeah, those tube-style shelters are not perfect but they are the best solution we've experimented with for cost and labor efficiency. They take a couple of minutes to install and will take a few minutes of maintenance over the course of a growing season (removing bird exclusion nets, hand-weeding inside the tube if weeds are getting out of control, straightening ones that are leaning). But in our modern situation of deer overabundance, they give the trees a fighting chance! They also really help with maintenance; they protect seedlings from getting bumped by a mower and you can also spray herbicide around each tree very quickly without having to worry about spraying any tree foliage. I recommend shelters that have vents for good air flow and a flared top to reduce bark abrasion. Fiberglass stakes are nice in some areas too, especially ones with occasional floods; they will require much less maintenance over time.
I planted a Wildfire Black Gum three years ago in Nashville. About 5% of the leaves turn in September. The rest remain green and stay on the tree until well into December and never really change color. It is the last tree in the neighborhood to lose its leaves. Will the color change improve with age? It is currently about 11 feet tall and 6 feet wide.
Interesting! I have noticed a few blackgum trees in the woods that keep their leaves on through November, but they typically do change color. I imagine this will change as the tree ages; sometimes seedlings and saplings will retain leaves longer than their fully grown counterparts.
interesting note there on philadelphia.
Is this where bee gum from..used for bee hives...since gets hollow?
Yes, it is! The tree is often hollow due to heart rot, so it makes excellent bee hives. It's also a great nectar producer!
the bark looks like a croccodile texture.