Question:
There is a tree in my front yard that drops thousands of pokey seed balls all over the sidewalk every winter. I've almost broken my ankle on them! How can I get rid of the balls without getting rid of the tree?Answer:
- The American Sweetgum or Liquidambar produces the messy seed balls. Liquidambar trees are a graceful, elegant, columnar tree with beautiful fall color that’s widely planted. Unfortunately, they produce a seed pod or as you call them pokey seed balls every year that are a messy nuisance and a hazard. You have one opportunity to avoid or abort the problem by spraying the trees when they are in bloom. Yes, Liquidambar trees do bloom. (http://bobklips.com/treeflowers6.html)
- This is how and why the seed pods to form. The flowers are not showy at all and they produce separate male and female flowers (see the footnote). Flowering occurs at or about the time the new leaves are emerging which is in early March. The female flowers are sprayed with Florel Fruit Eliminator from Monterey Lawn and Garden to abort the formation of the seed pods. It’s widely available at garden centers and other retailers of lawn and garden products. Several applications may be necessary since the flowers open progressively. Florel is not an Insecticide, Fungicide or Miticide. It is a plant growth regulator. It’s also applied to Olives, Flowering Plums, Crabapples and other plants that produce a messy fruit.
- Again it is critical the application(s) is made while the tree is blooming; otherwise, the results are spotty. Rain during the blooming cycle is Mother Nature’s method of disrupting the seed formation. When the tree(s) are small, you can be successful spraying it with a hose end sprayer. It becomes more problematical reaching the top of the tree as it grows, even with a ladder. So, you are faced then with other choices, living with the problem by spraying only a portion of the tree or removing it.
Note:
The link above has some great images of the male and female Liquidambar flowers. The male flowers are called staminate while the females are referred to as pistillate. Also, disregard the dates shown in the photos as the images were taken in Ohio. Liquidambar blooms much earlier (March) in the Bay Area.Question:
I'm trying to train my potato vine into the shape of a small tree. It looks real good when I first prune it and remove all the growth along the trunk, but very soon new shoots sprout from where I don't want them. Is there a way to coat the bark to keep the shoots from growing?Answer:
- I'm not aware of any method of preventing the unwanted shoots other than manually removing them.
- This is a common issue with plants whose normal growth habit is to have multiple branches from the ground up. These plants are always going to try to revert back to their natural form with basal or lateral shoots. You’ll find a similar problem with tree roses, oleander, and Crape Myrtle trees.