Sweet gum tree
- Thread starter john2189
- Start date
staninlowerAL
501 Club
AKA Porcupine eggs!
Seriously though, A towable brush type sweeper might work, A tool rental might have one for rent so you could try it before you acquire one. Another option is to rake or blow the debris into a central location then get it on to a tarp or plastic sheet to be able to pick up a lot of it at one time. JMHO Stan
Don McCombs
501 Club
Don McCombs
501 Club
From Harbor Freight. I use this to pick up spruce cones.
I grew up in Memphis, where sweet gum trees are quite common. I hated the balls, especially stepping on them! The common remedy was to rake them with the stiff leaf rake, yes, a real pain! I wonder if a good blower would work to move them into a concentrated area, then rake up?
Fast forward to now, I'm SW Ohio and, though not as common, I see some sweet gum trees. And always comment on the mess of balls under them. I recently mentioned to my wife that I was thinking about planting one on an outer edge of our property, where the balls could fall and remain. I do think the trees are nice looking. Might be a crazy idea....
I have several Osage Orange trees around the outer areas. Some years I pick up literally hundreds of hedge apples, last year maybe 30. I did have 20+ trees removed when we first bought the place, no regrets there! Walnut trees have similar cycles with the walnuts.
Best of luck,
David
Fast forward to now, I'm SW Ohio and, though not as common, I see some sweet gum trees. And always comment on the mess of balls under them. I recently mentioned to my wife that I was thinking about planting one on an outer edge of our property, where the balls could fall and remain. I do think the trees are nice looking. Might be a crazy idea....
I have several Osage Orange trees around the outer areas. Some years I pick up literally hundreds of hedge apples, last year maybe 30. I did have 20+ trees removed when we first bought the place, no regrets there! Walnut trees have similar cycles with the walnuts.
Best of luck,
David
Used to mow a couple cemeteries that had sweet gum trees in and around them. Back then, we went barefoot most of the year and could run on gravel, so the sweet gum balls weren’t much of a problem. Think I’d lose my religion if I did that today.
Im in NE Ohio. My sweet gum is a nice looking tree, and really nice colors in the fall. I think there is a treatment to lessen the balls, but it’s expensive
And yes, i remember running barefoot on gravel too
I have three sweet gum trees around my house. Thirty years ago, my wife had to have them when we were told about the fall color. Interestingly, no mention was made of the seed balls!
Two of the tree have some seed balls, but the third is super prolific!
Spring clean up! There are leaves mixed in, but this is mainly seed balls.
Raking them was so miserable that I finally paid big bucks for a Bag-A-Nut Sweet Gum Ball Picker Upper. When they are thick, I can fill the basket in a few feet, but it beats raking.
The trees are pretty, but if I could go back, I'd plant something else!
Two of the tree have some seed balls, but the third is super prolific!Spring clean up! There are leaves mixed in, but this is mainly seed balls.
Raking them was so miserable that I finally paid big bucks for a Bag-A-Nut Sweet Gum Ball Picker Upper. When they are thick, I can fill the basket in a few feet, but it beats raking.
The trees are pretty, but if I could go back, I'd plant something else!
I don’t have any additional suggestions for picking up the gum balls, but the discussion took me down memory lane....
In the late 60's my grandfather bought my parents a sweet gum tree for a present. We have pictures of him watering the newly planted tree, which was centered behind the house. In the mid 70's my parents added on to the back of the house. The addition stopped shy of the tree. At some point they split the gutters to allow room for the tree. In '87 I purchased the house from my parents. The tree was big and beautiful and supplied shade in the hot Memphis summers. Later I actually notched the roof for the still growing tree. In the early 90's I noticed a cracked window that was on the back wall (was a row of windows in the recreation room). The tree was lifting the foundation with its roots. So the tree finally had to go, kinda sad time...but I didn't miss the gum balls!
In the late 60's my grandfather bought my parents a sweet gum tree for a present. We have pictures of him watering the newly planted tree, which was centered behind the house. In the mid 70's my parents added on to the back of the house. The addition stopped shy of the tree. At some point they split the gutters to allow room for the tree. In '87 I purchased the house from my parents. The tree was big and beautiful and supplied shade in the hot Memphis summers. Later I actually notched the roof for the still growing tree. In the early 90's I noticed a cracked window that was on the back wall (was a row of windows in the recreation room). The tree was lifting the foundation with its roots. So the tree finally had to go, kinda sad time...but I didn't miss the gum balls!
workinonit
Well-known member
The only thing to do with sweet gum is use chin saw on it. We are inundated with them here and what a nuisance. The roots from them are extremely destructive as well. And they never stop shooting new growth.