{"id":12097,"date":"2019-10-21T12:00:35","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T16:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=12097"},"modified":"2019-10-21T11:16:03","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T15:16:03","slug":"black-gum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2019\/10\/21\/black-gum\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Gum (Tupelo) Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Black gum (<em>Nyssa sylvatica<\/em>) or tupelo tree is a native to Eastern North America (USDA hardiness zones 3-9). It is native from the New England states southward into Florida and west to Eastern Texas.&nbsp; Seedlings of this wonderful woodland and landscape tree start off slowly, but will mature to heights of 50 to 60 feet and 20 to 25 feet in width.&nbsp;&nbsp;Because of its tap-rooted nature, it is best to purchase nursery grown trees six inches or less. Allow 2-3 years for the tree(s) to established. Afterwards, black gum trees grow as rapidly as a sugar maple and make an ideal yard shade tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"678\" src=\"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Nyssa-sylvatica-6-1024x678.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Nyssa-sylvatica-6-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Nyssa-sylvatica-6-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Nyssa-sylvatica-6-768x509.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Variable Fall Leaf Color of Blackgum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"678\" src=\"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Nyssa-sylvatica-Red-Rage-5-1024x678.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099\" srcset=\"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Nyssa-sylvatica-Red-Rage-5-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Nyssa-sylvatica-Red-Rage-5-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Nyssa-sylvatica-Red-Rage-5-768x509.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Glossy foliage of &#8216;Red Rage&#8217; Black Gum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The 3-6 inch high gloss dark green summer foliage. Fall leaf color is expressed early, often in early September and continues through mid- to late- October, a blend of yellow, orange, purple, and red shades, rarely the same one year to the next. The light gray bark on a young tree becomes deeply furrowed with distinctive square ridges as the tree ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Black gum has a mostly dioecious flowering habit, which means that a tree produces either mostly male flowers while another tree bears mostly female flowers. The small spring flowers are prolific but are mostly inconspicuous. Blooms draw numerous nectar hungry bees. Tupelo honey is highly prized. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some years female trees may be loaded with berries, while mostly male trees bear only a few berries. The bluish-black fruits (berries) attract numerous birds and many four-legged critters.&nbsp; Deer are not a problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Disease and insect issues are minimal if the tree is sited properly. Leaf spot problems are best avoided by selecting resistant varieties (cultivars). Recommended cultivars are \u2018Wildfire\u2019 and Green Gable\u00ae. Black gum\u2019s fire risk rating is low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Black gum is\nan excellent ornamental shade tree and a street tree. The tree grows well in\nmoist soils including sites prone to periodic flooding. Formerly rated as\ndifficult to transplant, modern day nursery practices permit more production of\nblack gums.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) or tupelo tree is a native to Eastern North America (USDA hardiness zones 3-9). It is native from the New England states southward into Florida and west to Eastern Texas.&nbsp; Seedlings of this wonderful woodland and landscape tree start off slowly, but will mature to heights of 50 to 60 feet [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,657,747,1319,1105,1498,778,1391,674,645,806,665,1374,853,623,551,1476,791,843,1059,951,729,777,705,646,1,113,455],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12097"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12097"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12143,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12097\/revisions\/12143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}