Illustration
Black Gum
Nyssa sylvatica
Also called black tupelo, sour gum, pepperidge and tupelo
Black Gum blooms from May through June.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Black Gum
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–9. Expect it to reach about 40 ft tall and 25 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 12 years (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Black Gum. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Black Gum
Plant Black Gum in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 9, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Black Gum get?
40 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult25 ftwideSee Black Gum in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Black Gum
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Black Gum about 25 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add Black Gum to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Black Gum's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 8 published sources on October 24, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- NC State Extensionheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- The Morton Arboretumheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Penn State Extensionheight, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Chicago Botanic Gardenhardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
- greatplainsnursery.comGreat Plains Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones and water
- woodyplants.cals.cornell.eduCornell Universityheight, hardiness zones, sun and water
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight and spread
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 32 states and 1 province
United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and 20 more
Canada: Ontario
Recorded growing wild in 1,220 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.