Sweet Gum Worplesdon

Liquidambar styraciflua Worplesdon, also known as Sweet Gum Worplesdon, features delightfully lobed leaves resembling those of a Maple. The lobes are more deeply and distinctly defined than those of the species, emerging in spring with a vibrant green colour.

From early autumn, the tree puts on a spectacular display, beginning with golden yellow tones at the crown. As the season progresses, the foliage shifts through shades of orange, fiery red, and finally deep claret. Remarkably, these colours often appear simultaneously across the tree, creating a striking gradient effect from top to base - a truly eye-catching feature in any landscape.

The spiky-cased fruit appears in autumn and can remain on the tree into winter; this clone is unusual as it will bear fruit in British conditions, unlike the other varieties of Sweet Gum in production. This Sweet Gum also has a much less corky bark than the species.

Liquidambar stryaciflua Worplesdon forms a regular pyramidal shape at maturity, and as such, it is important to retain its central leader to ensure the tree has a balanced crown.

This tree won the Award of Garden Merit in both 1987 and 2002, and it is hard to argue with these accolades, as this architecture is simply stunning.

This tree thrives in various soil types, but it prefers moist, well-drained soil. It can also tolerate slightly alkaline soil.

This large tree is a great choice for gardens and parks, offering a fantastic architectural structure from its uniform shape and unrivalled autumn colour.

This tree works well as a feature specimen tree as it does deserve to steal the limelight in the autumntime.

Mature height:12-17m

Common names

Sweet Gum Worplesdon

Height of tree

12-17m

Soil type

Well drained, Clay, Acidic

Shape

Pyramidal

Foliage Colour

Green

Information Flags

Award

Looks good in

Autumn

Location

Garden, Parkland

Genus

Liquidambar

Autumn Colour

Yes