Liquidambar

Start with the finished size, because it settles every other question. Liquidambar styraciflua in deep soil reaches 20 to 25 metres with a crown 8 to 12 metres across, and much of that arrives inside thirty years. Beneath it sits a shallow, spreading root plate that lifts paving, cracks kerbs and driveway edges and works into old clay drains, and by the time the damage shows the tree is well past the point where moving it is an option. Allow 8 to 10 metres of clearance from any slab, path, pool shell or sewer line, and let that distance choose the position rather than the view from a window.

The second thing to know is the fruit. None of the selections stocked here is a fruitless form, so every one of them will eventually drop woody, spiked seed capsules. They hurt underfoot on a lawn, they jam pool skimmer boxes, and they need raking rather than mowing. Seedlings also come up readily in beds and in adjoining bushland, so pull them while they are small. Soil is worth checking too: liquidambar goes yellow between the leaf veins on alkaline ground, which makes the limestone soils common around Adelaide and coastal Perth a poor match unless the bed is generously improved and mulched.

What the tree gives back is autumn colour that holds up across much of the country, working through yellow and orange into scarlet and purple from mid-autumn, in mild coastal districts as well as the cold tablelands. Full sun, deep soil that drains, steady water for two summers and light structural pruning while young is the whole method.

The straight species, Sweet Gum, sits behind the older plantings you see around town and is stocked from 200mm containers through to 200L, opening at $43.95. Among the selections, Worplesdon has deeply cut, narrow lobes and turns earlier, which suits warmer districts with a short season. Burgundy runs to wine red and holds its leaves late into winter. Hilleri is slower and tighter in the crown, worth a look if the height is the sticking point. Oakville Highlight and Canberra Gem are selected for consistent colour, and Palo Alto leans orange-red in a single 150L size. Liquidambar formosana Evergreen is a separate species with three-lobed leaves that stay on through warm winters, so it suits subtropical gardens where a bare tree is not wanted.

If that scale is more than the block can carry, the Japanese maple range covers autumn colour at courtyard size and feature trees holds options with better manners near paving. On a large site, advanced trees carries liquidambar in the bigger containers.

Every order ships farm-direct with flat $99 delivery across QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, ACT and WA, a $399 minimum order, and the 30-Day Healthy Plant Guarantee.