Most folks in the Southeast US consider sweetgums to be a less than desirable tree, while gardeners in most foreign countries consider Liquidambar styraciflua to be a garden gem. Over the years, we have collected cuttings of quite a few gold sports from roadside botanizing expeditions, but none have proved to have good enough garden value to introduce. Thankfully, an Australian gardener discovered and propagated this amazing golden selection, which is becoming more widely available in its native haunts under the cultivar name L. ‘Naree’. Here’s our selection at JLBG this spring…pretty impressive! That’s some fine golden lipstick!
When I got this plant years ago I made the mistake of not having any full sun location in my garden. I still do not have full sun but I have locations that have hot afternoon sun. Anyone of us plant nerds would love to achieve this level of golden leaf and I would buy it again….. And gamble again.