Pleached Liquidambar Styraciflua - Pleached Sweet Gum Tree

Pleached Liquidambar Styraciflua (Pleached Sweet Gum Tree) is a pleached deciduous tree with excellent autumnal colour. It’s a good choice for colourful above fence screening due to its pleached form. 

Liquidambar Styraciflua is native to North America and is more commonly known as the America Sweetgum tree or the Redgum tree. It’s been grown in the UK since 1600 and has become a real favourite here. This tree has five-pointed foliage that resembles maple leaves. Leaves emerge dark green in spring and mature to a darker glossy shade in the summer months. Insignificant flowers and fruits appear in springtime, but it’s the magnificent autumn colour Sweet Gum is best known for. The foliage turns red, yellow, purple and chestnut brown – often all at once – creating a spectacular show that lasts until December.

We sell Sweet Gum in a variety of styles but this version is a Pleached Sweet Gum best used as stylish above fence screening. Its crown is trained on a square framework with a single clear trunk.

Height And Spread of Pleached Liquidambar Styraciflua (Pleached Sweet Gum)
Pleached Sweet Gum can reach a height of 6 metres in 10 years and 12 by 8 metres over 50 years if left unpruned. To maintain the pleached shape, trim annually. 

How Hardy Is Pleached Liquidambar Styraciflua (Pleached Sweet Gum)
This is a hardy tree in the UK if its roots are well drained. It rarely develops pests or diseases.

How To Use Pleached Liquidambar Styraciflua (Pleached Sweet Gum)
This pleached tree is a great choice for above fence screening in the warm months of the year. Its leaves fall over winter, but are regrown in spring. Use it to block out neighbours and create shade in the summer months.
Beautiful autumn colour makes pleached Sweet Gum particularly attractive around the garden as privacy screening or lining a walkway.

How To Care For Pleached Liquidambar Styraciflua (Pleached Sweet Gum)
Liquidambar Styraciflua enjoys full sun or partial shade in acid to neutral soils. It can cope with some exposure, but the autumnal displays last longer when they’re sheltered.
This pleached version has a square crown that’s been trained on a framework. To keep its shape a yearly prune is needed. Tie in whippy stems and trim away excess to maintain the shape.
Water well, even if it’s raining, and apply a thick layer of mulch to the roots to trap moisture and provide nutrients for the growing year.