Pruning of Liquidambar

[Marcel Vos]

Hello,

I guess it is customary in this group to introduce onself. We live in the
centre of the Netherlands and have a small garden (10 x 10 m at the back and
about half that in front of the house). Mostly wild plants. So it is not a
big garden. In it we have a Liquidambar, which in Dutch is called Amber
tree - we planted it for the birth of our daughter Amber. Unfortunately, it
is growing too fast for the garden; this year about 1.5 m. It shouldn't keep
up this pace otherwise it will grow out of the garden before Amber finishes
primary school.
So my question to you all is: how could I prune the tree in such a way that
it remains in a nice shape? (preferrably a bit bushy instead of 'standard'
tree shape) And what is the best season for pruning?

Greetings,
Marcel Vos & Tonny van Dijk
Amber & Bodil

[JR]

Might I suggest rather than hard prune a tree that wants to grow so
large, you investigate replacing it with a variety of Liquidamber that
stays small? 'Gumball' is round in shape as its name implies and
grows to about 2 meters in 6 years, and 'Jennifer Carrol' is more
upright, and grows to 3-4 meters in the same time. You should be able
to find such cultivars and many others in your own country!

Good luck,

John

largeOn Sun, 9 Jan 2000 22:07:08 +0100, "Marcel Vos" <mv...@wxs.nl>
wrote:

[Gandy Dancer]

I'm not familiar with the Liquidambar (styraciflua - Sweet-gum), but Wyman's
Gardening Encyclopedia says that it grows to 125 feet (38.1 m)! I seriously
doubt that tree can be trained as a shrub...is it too late to re-name your
daughter and plant something more suitable for the space? :)

Gandy

Marcel Vos wrote in message <85at84$19mrr$1...@reader3.wxs.nl>...

[lizr...@wantree.com.au]

On Sun, 9 Jan 2000 22:07:08 +0100, "Marcel Vos" <mv...@wxs.nl> wrote:

>Hello,
>
>I guess it is customary in this group to introduce onself. We live in the
>centre of the Netherlands and have a small garden (10 x 10 m at the back and
>about half that in front of the house). Mostly wild plants. So it is not a
>big garden. In it we have a Liquidambar, which in Dutch is called Amber
>tree - we planted it for the birth of our daughter Amber. Unfortunately, it
>is growing too fast for the garden; this year about 1.5 m. It shouldn't keep
>up this pace otherwise it will grow out of the garden before Amber finishes
>primary school.
>So my question to you all is: how could I prune the tree in such a way that
>it remains in a nice shape? (preferrably a bit bushy instead of 'standard'
>tree shape) And what is the best season for pruning?
>
>
>Greetings,
>Marcel Vos & Tonny van Dijk
>Amber & Bodil
>
>
>

Goed morgen! Marcel et al :)

I would suggest nipping out the growing tips where you don't want it
to grow. It will "bush out" with more growing tips in the centre of
the plant if you nip out the outside ones. At the moment I am nipping
out the lateral tips of a Melia azedarach to force it to grow tall and
make a huge "standard" tree rather than a spreading one.
I've also, in the past, made a "standard" of a Schinus
terebinthefolius - a renowned ground-spreading mess, by merely nipping
off growing points. (It got to 400mm trunk before the bulldozer :)
I've also got a 2 metre oleander in a pot which I have maintained as a
single trunk by this method.

Hope this helps, Goodluck! Regards John Riley West Oz
ps Oz for Australia :)

[Genie]

I also planted a Liquidamber in a location that will not hold the mature
tree. As we have to pay a fine to cut down tree and remove them in our
area, I do prune mine back. I do not care for the looks of pruned trees,
actually, but once you start you have to carry on. I just cut the tree to a
decent height that would allow for some growth, shaping it as I worked. I
have had to cut mine back three time so far, I generally try to make my cuts
so that water will run off rather than pool in the cut area. Other than
that, I just try to keep it decent looking. It will be an ongoing job if
you decide to keep it. Do not let it get too far ahead of you, it is easier
to keep trimmed if the branches are smaller and it is not so hard on the
tree. On the third pruning, I found I had to thin some branches completely
out in order to let some air in to the center. When you have to do this,
make sure you dont cut into the collar of the branch but get just as close
to the collar as possible, this will allow the tree to grow a neat heal over
the cut. Do not let the bark tear on the under side of cuts. Make the cut
up from the underside first, so that tear is minimal. Good luck.
"Marcel Vos" <mv...@wxs.nl> wrote in message
news:85at84$19mrr$1...@reader3.wxs.nl...

[Marcel Vos]

Thanks for the advice! In which season do you prune?

Marcel

Genie heeft geschreven in bericht ...

[Rodger Whitlock]

On Sun, 9 Jan 2000 22:07:08 +0100, "Marcel Vos" <mv...@wxs.nl> wrote:

>... have a small garden (10 x 10 m at the back and

>about half that in front of the house). Mostly wild plants. So it is not a

>big garden. In it we have a Liquidambar... it

>is growing too fast for the garden; this year about 1.5 m.

>So my question to you all is: how could I prune the tree in such a way that

>it remains in a nice shape? (preferrably a bit bushy instead of 'standard'
>tree shape) And what is the best season for pruning?

Liquidambar styraciflua is native to the eastern United States, where
I grew up. (We used to call them "gumball trees" and throw the
fruiting bodies at each other in the fall.) It is a tall forest tree,
completely unsuitable for such a small garden as yours.

I suggest that you remove this tree while you can still do it
yourself, and avoid the expense of having a costly commercial tree
maintenance firm do it later on when it is too tall.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

[Gandy Dancer]

Sounds familiar...'cept there's the issue of his daughter. Hmmm...maybe he
could put it a pond and re-name her Liquid...?

Gandy

Rodger Whitlock wrote in message <38795581....@news.newsguy.com>...

[Kubwa]

Liquid....NO I don't think so........She might Dribble
Richard

Gandy Dancer wrote in message <85h828$4s3$1...@bgtnsc01.worldnet.att.net>...

[Wendy B G]

>We live in the
>centre of the Netherlands and have a small garden (10 x 10 m at the back and

>about half that in front of the house). Mostly wild plants. So it is not a
>big garden.

>In it we have a Liquidambar, which in Dutch is called Amber
>tree - we planted it for the birth of our daughter Amber. Unfortunately, it

>is growing too fast for the garden; this year about 1.5 m.

>So my question to you all is: how could I prune the tree in such a way that
>it remains in a nice shape?

The Liquidamber (sweet gum tree) is native to the deciduous woods of the
eastern U.S. They grow fast and very tall. We have a mature sweet gum tree
shading our house...it is 15 meters tall.

Another poster suggested pruning the top of the tree. This is a good idea. I
suggest that you also root-prune the tree, by slicing around the root ball at a
distance of 500 cm with a sharp spade.

Another alternative is to dig up the tree, prune the roots and the top, and
plant it in a large container (such as a 200-liter drum). You will need to
prune the roots and top every year, but the aim is to have a 2-meter tall
bonsai tree.

If you just let it grow, it will dominate your entire yard within 10 years. It
is an excellent shade tree, with lovely autumn color.

Wendy
Wilmington, DE (Zone 7)