How do I get rid of gumballs?
Hardiness Zone: 6a
By Linda Luckett from IL
Look up Sweet Gum trees on the internet. Like the pine tree has pine cones, the sweet gum tree has gum balls. They are small round balls with sharp spikes all around them. You would only have to step on one of them bare-footed one time and you would never forget what they are!
You can collect the sweetgum balls (dried ones), spray paint and glitter them, and either use them on Christmas gifts
or Christmas trees, in bowls on the table on in clear glass vases or baskets with natural pine cones. They make really pretty ornamental touches for wreaths for every season when left natural, and I've used them in floral arrangements by gluing them onto thin sticks and placing them right in with cut, dried
You might not be able to prevent them from falling to the ground, but you can sure find lots of crafty uses for them.
There are people who will buy them for craft uses as well.
Hope this helps.
Pookarina
I would pay postage to send me some! They are supposed to be good for spiders. I put some out several years ago and worked like a charm.
Very few of the many seeds are fertile. Gum balls can be tilled into compacted soil for aeration, minding the pH, of course.
I appreciate the craft ideas certainly, as my garden is polluted with balls from my (well-liked) neighbor. Are they a sourde for storax gum? Not sure, find your own web info at your own risk.
I have a whole big pile of sweet gumballs inback of my shed here in Springfield, Missouri. Anyone that wants them is welcome to them.
I have like bag's of gum balls. If interested in them...
How many do you want? I have just over 10,000 seed pods with each pod averaging 4 seeds each.
What is the capsule called you put in the drilled holes so they don't produce sweet gum balls or fruit?
By Kathy
It is called "Snipper". They come in packs of 25 and you place them every 4 inches around the base of the tree. They are $155 per pack. Too expensive for me!
I heard you can drill a hole in the tree to its core and drive a copper ground rod in there and within a year it should quit producing balls ?????
Where do u purchase snipper
Is this true?
How can I keep my sweet gums from making balls?
By wyatt from Sallisaw, OK
From Cleveland Ohio -
I have had Davey Tree come out and spray the tree to help relieve the amount of monkey balls. However, it by no stretch totally eliminates the quantity. It simply reduces the quantity. This procedure was mentioned to me by a friend who is a naturalist for the local metroparks. He said they spray the sweet gums on a few of the parks' golf courses each year.
Here are a few detals. I had a very tough time finding a party that does this stuff. Davey Tree happens to be a major player in our area. Cost was shy of $100 for a very large tree. The tree is sprayed in the spring right around the time germination begins.
Also, I last had it sprayed a few years ago and that year my breathing (nose constantly blocked in the evening) was pathethic. It got to the point where I would walk around outside in the middle of the night hoping my nasal passages would open up. Was it the tree or not? I don't know. However, it just so happens that my breathing has not been that bad since then.
Best of luck ... to me, these balls are a major pain. Just can't afford to have the tree taken down, though.
We have four lovely sweet gums in our backyard. The thorny gumballs are worth putting up with for the beauty and joy of these magnificent trees. I do not know the age of these trees but they are huge, and as one poster has already commented, they hold up very well to high winds.
Seriously? You navigate the frozen tundra your driveway has become for nearly 3 weeks, then nearly bust your butt on a spiney ball!
One word: free MULCH (Ok, two) doesn't break down, keeps out most tenderfooted critters, Mulch.
How can I prevent sugar gum tree balls?
By Bob Bruner from Magnolia, TX
About the only thing I can think of is to remove the tree. You could call your ag. extension service, but I don't know that you can prevent an existing flowering plant from making seeds.
call a lawn service and have the tree sprayed in the fall.
A vasecto-tree?
I cut five of my major lower branches this summer maybe that will eliminate some of my gum balls
How can I keep a Sweet Gum tree from making seed balls? I have five or six around my yard and pick up 10 to 15 wheelbarrow loads each spring.
I've had several Sweet Gum trees and their stumps taken out this year. I am having a hard time getting rid of the shooters that keep coming up...