There is an age-old problem that almost all gardeners eventually have to face: too many plants for too little space. For me, this realization happened five years ago, when I had reached the limit of how many trees I could plant in my rela­tively small yard. Still, I visited gardens across the country and saw new trees I liked, only to tell myself, over and over again, that I simply did not have the space for another one. That was until I met ‘Slender Silhouette’ sweet gum and fell head over heels in love because it could fit almost anywhere. This is a compact, columnar tree with an impressive mature height and a width of only 3 to 6 feet, so it takes up little precious space. Its great architectural form makes it a focal point like no other.

Unlike other sweet gums, which drop scores of macelike fruit all over the place, ‘Slender Silhouette’ only produces minimal fruit, which drop in a small area due to the tree’s narrow structure. This sweet gum’s foliage is deep green in summer and then turns yellow, orange, red, or burgundy in fall. It also tolerates a wide range of soil types, including clay.