This video is about Make Money With Sweet Gum BallsE-mail: curmudgeoncalls@gmail.com Can I Use a Pressure Washer to Clean or Spray Trees? Read More. They are an extremely prickly fruit– inedible by the way. Most people want to know how to get rid of the tree from which they come, how to prevent it from fruiting, or if you can compost sweetgum balls. In fact, sweetgum balls are anything but sweet. If you are a purist and believe that you should attempt to compost everything, then the best bet is to run a “hot” compost pile. Sweetgum are native to the southeastern United States and belong to the Altingiaceae family. We rake, we mow, we sweep, and still we have gum balls. Today, the active ingredient of the infertile sweetgum seeds, which contain high amounts of shikimic acid, is used in the preparation of Tamiflu, but other than that is more of a bane in the landscape. While they’re not edible, the balls can double as spiky mulch to keep animals away from young plants. Keep the compost pile hot and bring your patience. Sweet gum fruits are spiky green balls that turn brown through winter and fall to the ground November through May. The only difference is sweetgum balls drop all fall and winter. But captivating colors just don’t make up for those prickly brown balls that get everywhere. View our Privacy Policy for more information. It is a beautiful tree, and I would hate to get rid of it because of those pesky things!”. As a monoecious plant, a sweet gum bears male and female flowers. Burn the remaining unwanted sweet gum balls. Our neighbor has 3 in her back yard and they blow into our yard and we rake them every few weeks so we won’t step on them and fall. The roundleaf sweetgum is well-known as the tidy alternative to fruiting sweetgum trees. Sign up for our newsletter. By mid-fall, the balls are dead and seedless. Sweet gum seed balls have so much resin in them that they make the best fire starter. Burning sweet gum with firewood is not common, but you can do it. After gathering your sweet gum balls… Ashley, a Davey blog reader from Connecticut, recently asked, “Any thoughts about preventing an American sweetgum tree from dropping its spiky balls? American sweetgum are deciduous trees prized for their star-shaped leaves that turn a mix of brilliant fall colors. At Davey, our arborists pinpoint the best application time each year using Nature Clock, a patent-pending software application that predicts bloom time and peak pest emergence. Just like leaves, they must fall, so the tree can prep for new growth. If you run a cool pile, sweetgum in compost will likely not break down and very possibly you will end up with volunteers sprouting from the pile. Getting back to Ashley’s question, using injections on your sweetgum tree is tricky because the timing has to be just right. No, I am not talking about the sweet gumballs that we blow bubbles with. They won't even burn up. It’s a narrow but critical window. The wood does not smoke. We cut the trees into 10 ft logs and then run them through our bandsaw mill cutting them into 3" thick slabs then turn them 90 degrees and make 5" cuts. While you wait, the tree has much to offer. The sweet gum got its name for … By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies. Proud sweetgum tree owners know the plant’s glossy, green summer glow and rainbow fall leaves can’t be beaten. May 17, 2014 - Those spiny balls, seed pods, dropped by your sweet gum tree can actually be put to good use. We have those dreaded Sweet Gum trees and their precious offspring--prickly sweet gum balls *spits*. I always noticed how wonderful the hickory smells. The trees’ spike ball fruit is almost as telltale for identification as the star-shaped leaves. The round fruit balls are produced from fertilized flowers. It is as hot as any hickory I've ever used. 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