Gum Bumelia2020-05-072020-06-24/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/logo2.pngGarden Style San Antoniohttps://www.gardenstylesanantonio.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gum-bumelia-sideroxylon-lanugosum-detail-650x650-img_7642.jpg200px200px
Gum Bumelia
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Sideroxylon lanuginosum
Chittamwood; Gum Bully; Woolly Buckthorn; Blackhaw; Coma
15
–
40
15
–
40
Southern U.S., to western Mexico
Central Texas
Texas
Part Sun/Shade
Low
Birds
Previous
Next
About This Plant
Sun or partial shade; (semi) evergreen, depending on conditions. The spiny branch tips tend to discourage tree-climbing and other close contact, but blooms appear in mid-summer and are sweetly fragrant. Gum bumelia’s descriptive names belie a rather plain appearance. Although “bully” may be a bit of an overstatement, “buckthorn” references the spiny branch tips; “gum” the chewability of the sap; and “woolly” the fuzziness of the lower leaf surfaces.
Gum bumelia is largely unavailable even in the native plant trade, so preserve it on-site if you can. It’s useful for wildlife in any native edge.
Maintenance
None required to achieve a shrublike shape, though it can also be trained up into a single-trunk tree (as pictured on recommended tree lists.) Pruning is always optional. Make any cuts at a bud or branch; focus on minimizing dead, damaged, or rubbing branches. As with any tree, remove no more than 25% of the total canopy during any five-year cycle. To maintain a healthy specimen leave the upper 2/3 of the tree’s height uncut (never removing more than the lowest third of the tree in a single pruning period) — for example, on a 12-foot tree, stick to the lowest 4 feet.
Brad Wier is a SAWS conservation consultant. Years in South Texas landscaping and public horticulture gave him a lasting enthusiasm for native plants that don’t die when sprinklers -- and gardeners -- break down. He’d rather save time and water for kayaking and tubing. He is a former kilt model, and hears hummingbirds.