The Tupelo

The Tupelo (aka Blackgum or Pepperidge) was the first of many trees I added to the yard in 2023. I chose a Tupelo for many reasons: 

• It's native to my area but not very common, especially as an ornamental. This is likely because it's a slow grower and can have a long taproot making it hard to transplant. So it will add some native diversity to the landscape. 
• It should have vibrant red leaves in autumn so it will also add some great color to the yard. 
• It can tolerate my clay soil and poor draining conditions on the north side of a fence along my yard. Also, it's a narrow tree (20'-30' wide at maturity) so I'm not too concerned about it growing much into my neighbor's yard despite planting it only 10 feet away from the fence.

June 2023: Nice new shoots and green leaves on my Tupelo planted two months prior.

I planted this tree in early April and after more than two months, it has done very well. While it hasn't really added any height, it's grown several new shoots, leafed out nice and green, and hasn't had any issues.

June 2023: My Tupelo two months after planting standing a little over four feet tall (not much height added yet).