Reviews (0)
Helpful Gardening Tips
Goes Well With
-
Sassafras Tree
$34.99 -
Sweet Gum
$34.99 -
Red Sunset Maple
$34.99 -
Spikerush
$2.69 -
-
Soft Rush
$2.69
Shipping
Shipping Information
We ship all plants usps priority mail. They arrive to most locations within 2-3 days. We package all plants to retain moisture to up to 10 days in transit. All plants ships from our warehouses in Tennessee. All plants are grown and shipped from out Altamont (zip) 37301 location. We do drop ship for re-sellers also for those wanting to resell our plants.
How We Protect Your Plants For Transit
All plants are dug and immediately taken to our warehouse and tera-sorb moisture retention gel is applied to the roots and then wrapped in plastic to retain superior moisture for transit. They are placed in corogated cardboard shipping boxes for protection when shipped
Upon Receipt Of Your Plants
Upon receipt of your plants, unpack and unwrap the roots and mist with water. Plant within 24-48 hours. If you can not plant within this time frame, put your plants in a cool location (ex- basement, garage or cellar) and water the roots daily. Cover them back up with the plastic so they will not dry out until you can plant them. After planted, water every evening after the sun goes down for 5 days.
| Shipping Dates |
|---|
| Ships November through April |
Description
One of the most beautiful small trees of the southern and eastern United States is the Sourwood. Named for the sour taste of its leaves and sap, nothing else is bitter about this tree with its gorgeous, lily-of-the-valley-like blossoms or its blazing fall foliage.
Sourwood tree is often found wild in the Appalachian mountains, growing between and among rhododendron and azaleas in the area’s acidic soil.
As a sapling, it benefits from the shade thrown by taller trees. Homeowners should keep this in mind and not grow this tree too close to the house or anything else that’s at risk for its limbs rubbing against it when it’s mature. Trees that grow in the shade tend to produce fewer flowers less vivid fall colors. It’s a deciduous tree, so it loses its leaves in the fall.
The tree’s bloom time is in the summer, and during that time it is covered with masses of tiny, waxy white flowers borne in 4 to 8 inch long panicles. Some botanists claim that the fragrance of the flowers is slight, while others claim it to be creamy and delicious. Whether their smell is strong or not, the flowers are irresistible to bees, and the tree is prized for its honey along with its other attributes. By late summer the flowers turn into dry, hard, woody, bell-shaped capsules that persist throughout the winter.
Sourwood trees can rival that of any oak or maple.
In the summer the alternate, tapered, finely toothed 5 to 8 inch long leaves are glossy green. In the fall, the leaves turn a spectacular red, purplish red or even gold. The tree’s love of acidic soils makes it ideal for many areas in the south. However, the ground needs to be productive, moist, and have good drainage. Some botanists claim that the Sourwood can stand some drought, while others argue it is drought intolerant. It does need an average amount of watering. What it does not tolerate well is pollution, so rarely planted in cities.
The Sourwood has a slender trunk covered with a gray, furrowed, scaly bark. The crown is elliptical or oval. The tree grows about 13 to 24 inches per year when it’s young. Like all trees, it increases until the end of its life, and it can live between 100 and 200 years if it’s well-cared for. Deer like to nibble the leaves and twigs as they want to bite just about everything else, but the tree tolerates this well. The Sourwood has no dangerous insect or disease problems, though twig blight and leaf spot have been known to occur. Overall, the Sourwood is easy to take care of and easy to love
The Sourwood Tree Ships as Bare Root