Sourwood is a native tree that offers year - round interestingness .
Kindra Clineff
Plant and growsourwood(Oxydendrum arboreum)in your yard , and you ’ll be rewarded with a pocket-sized - to - medium - sized deciduous Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree with multiple season of interest . It features shiny green leaves , tassels of ship’s bell - shaped , clean heyday in summer , and spectacular autumn color . Even in winter , its deep fissured dark gray bark stands out in the landscape .
Credit:Kindra Clineff
Native to the easterly United States , sourwood has a slender habit with a rounded top and pretty sag ramification . The sourwood beget its name from the sour - tasting leave . However , its peak are the source of extremely angelic ambrosia , which bees assemble to make highly treasure sourwood honey . The flush are follow by chickenhearted - unripe come capsules that are almost as attractive as the blooms . It ’s among thefirst trees to expose nightfall color ; its leaves transfer to scarlet , dark cerise , and orange , in stunning contrast to the seed capsule .
This tree can be tricky to witness at a nursery , but it ’s well deserving the search . expend this guide to find out how to plant and arise a sourwood in your yard .
Where to Plant Sourwood Trees
In the wilderness , sourwood is an understory Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that often grows in tad . However , bass shade result in few blossom and less spectacular decline foliation semblance . In a dwelling house landscape painting , place it infull sunor part shade . Make certain it will have enough space to reach its mature size without encroaching on building or other plants . It does not tolerate air pollution , so avoid establish Oxydendrum arboreum near a busy street .
How and When to Plant a Sourwood Tree
It ’s best to purchase a little sapling because large trees are trickier to transplant . Be sure to site the tree where you want it because sourwoods do n’t like to be move after being planted .
Plant while the tree is hibernating — in spring before fresh growth emerge or in fall after leaves have overleap . If your land needs any amendment , such as organic matter or a soil acidifier ) mix these in before planting . labour a hole about a foot wider and the same depth as the root ball , and mound some soil in the heart and soul of the kettle of fish .
Examine the root and bump off any that appear damaged . Set the tree in the hole on top of the center pile and propagate the roots out evenly . bit by bit backfill with soil , tamping it down and water to settle it around the source as you fill the hollow . When you end backfilling , the tree should sit slightly gamy than it did in the dope . implement 3 or 4 inches oforganic mulcharound the planting surface area , but keep the mulch a few column inch by from the trunk of the tree . Water the tree exhaustively .
Credit:Bob Stefko
Bob Stefko
Sourwood Tree Care Tips
Once established , sourwood demand minimal aid . It ’s not a fussy tree , and it has few serious plague or diseases . As long as you place it well and keep it watered for its first two years , it should reinforce you with many seasons of understated elegance with its summertime flowers and eye - catching fall leafage .
Light
Although it grows wild in full shade as an understory tree , sourwood will be much more spectacular in your landscape if it receives more calorie-free . Full sun is upright , but it does well in part nicety , particularly if it receives at least four hours of preferably morning Sunday or all - sidereal day mottled shade . These circumstance should assure good flowering and glorious evenfall color .
Soil and Water
Sourwood flourish in moist , well - debilitate soil with gamy organic issue content . Like other members of the Ericaceae family , such asazaleas and rhododendron , Oxydendrum arboreum prefers acidic soil in apH between 4.5 and 6.0 . Sourwood does not permit compact or alkaline soil or poor drain .
Newly found sourwoods should be watered profoundly every week during their first two develop season . These trees can be slow to recuperate from transplantation , so unconstipated tearing is critical until they are well ground . After that , they tolerate some drouth .
Temperature and Humidity
sorrel tree Tree grow inUSDA Zones5 - 9 and thrive in cool , highland surround . They can be get hold in the gaga growing on wooded slopes or along streambanks in the Appalachian Mountains . They do n’t withstand vivid heat ; extended fond , wry time period often cause leaves to drop off .
Fertilizer
If your soil has in high spirits organic subject message , you do n’t need to fecundate for the first two years . After that , circularize a layer of folio mold orcompostaround the dripline of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , then cover this layer with mulch .
Pruning
Little pruning is necessary with sourwoods as they have a pleasing natural habit . You may from time to time need toremove a damaged or broken branch , which can be done whenever you notice it . If you want to prune your Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree to establish a particular anatomy or tighten its size , prune in late surrender after the foliage have drop .
Pests and Problems
Few pests or disease bother sourwood , and those that do rarely make significant damage , which is another good reason to grow it . hang webwormsoccasionally infest a sourwood ; these can be removed by cutting off the branch on which they form their web . leafage smudge diseaseoccurs infrequently and make modest damage .
How to Propagate Sourwood
The near method of propagate sourwood is by seed , and it requires a lot of patience . Cuttings are notoriously difficult to steady down . The seed is tiny and must be gather up in the fall from the ripen ejaculate capsule . seed it in acidic soil , such as a mixture of peat moss and sand , and keep it consistently moist , either under mist or in a plastic collapsible shelter . Subjecting the seed to aperiod of insensate temperatures ( known as social stratification ) for a couple of month may speed sprouting . It will be several years before the seedlings are large enough to graft into the garden .
Types of Sourwood Trees
Sourwood is the only species in the genusOxydendrum , and there are only a few named smorgasbord .
‘Albomarginatum’
Oxydendrum arboreum‘Albomarginatum ’ sports green leave with snowy margins . Some leave are marbled with white . Its fall color is spectacular .
‘Chameleon’
‘ Chamaeleon ’ is a rare cultivar that grows witha more vertical and conical riding habit than the other mintage . Its gloaming leaf shows color too soon as it morphs into lustrous shades of yellow , red , and purple , all at the same time or in sequence .
‘Mt. Charm’
This cultivar has a symmetrical , conical habit . It is the former sourwood tree to exhibit splendid fall foliage color .
Sourwood Companion Plants
bush that expand under the same conditions as sourwood are raw companions in a mottled or partly shady garden . Many often grow nearby in the wild .
Flame Azalea
Flame azalea(Rhododendron calendulaceum)is one of many azalea that add a springtime flower display to a garden in mottled sun or part shade . It produces big clusters of red , orangish , or yellow flowers in the spring .
Drooping Leucothoe
Denny Schrock
Drooping leucothoe(Leucothoe fontanesiana ) , alsoknown as doghobble , prosper in the same conditions favour by the sourwood . It is a shrubby evergreen plant groundcover with carmine new growth that turns deep green . It raise little , creamy white spring - to - summer heyday .
Carolina Allspice
Carolina allspice(Calycanthus floridus ) is another native shrub that grow near sorrel tree in the wild . It ’s a 4 - to-8 - foot - tall shrub that bears unusual fragrant deep burgundy spring flowers . Its yellow gloaming foliage contrasts attractively with the red and orange autumn foliage of Oxydendrum arboreum .
Frequently Asked Questions
It involve at least five year from come before a sorrel tree is mature enough to produce flowers . If your tree is older than that and is still not flowering , it may not be bring forth enough sunlight . Because sourwood does n’t like to be actuate , prune some of the surrounding trees to give up more sunlight to reach it .
Several leaf billet - cause fungus kingdom sometimes taint sourwood , but the damage is primarily cosmetic . They do n’t require discourse unless you obtain the spot particularly repellant .
sorrel tree flush have a pleasant , wakeful fragrance . They are borne in panicles and resemble the flush of lily - of - the - vale ( lily - of - the - vale tree is another vulgar name for sorrel tree ) . The tassels of white bell shape acquire at the ends of branches , and you are likely to prize the scent only on youthful trees . The flowers are commonly too high on senior specimen for their scent to be noticed .
Credit:Kindra Clineff
Credit:Denny Schrock
Credit: Marty Baldwin
