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question about planting blackgum trees

Started by nsherve, September 07, 2017, 03:14:29 AM

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nsherve

I'm looking into planting some blackgum trees for my wife in the land around our (her) new house. Can anyone tell how long (how many years) it will take them to come to flower if grown from seed? We are (I am) raising honeybees, and I've read that the bees are attracted to them... we live in west central AL.
Thanks in advance.

Nate

Maryland G-man

Blackgum is a favorite of mine. Ours flower at about 15-20 years when grown in the woods. Probably quite younger when open grown but I haven't paid that much attention to say for certain. I've never planted any since naturals are plentiful. I just avoid hitting them with herbicide when doing TSI and let them grow. In clearcuts they can be a real problem in suppressing the pines we want to grow, and blackgum typically doesn't reach timber size or have sufficient quality for sawlogs. So most of the time we herbicide them to knock them back a few years. But then they'll come back as an understory plant. These are the ones I retain. The berries are great when I can get them before the birds do.

mike_belben

Plant or transplant sourwood.. Should be native to alabama.  Sposta be the top honey tree and It grows 3x as fast as gum.  atleast the sprouts thatve coppiced off the sourwoods i culled last fall are 3x taller now than the gums i culled at the same time. 

Deer like it too when it first comes up.  Not as much as red maple though. 
Praise The Lord

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