2015 large callus starting point above and pics of the full tree below. I pruned the lowest 4-5 branches which I think is visible combining the pics. I goofed up and forgot to take a pic before I started trimming. Whoops!

Toro you asked how long that callus took and the answer is 1 growing season =)

Looks amazing! I'll post a pic of mine this spring. 2014 was the 3rd spring for my forest farm Nyssa sylvatica and it leaped as expected. Over 1 foot of growth. Closing in on 5'!

She's growing. I like that pruning job of mine 0% but we will see how it starts to encapsulate before I get excited and cut more.

How early (age) do they start flowering/fruiting?

I dunno mine is that wildfire cultivar so the scion could be what, 60 years old? It was about my height when I planted it, then it died back NEARLY to the graft and now it is taller than me. Last year or the year before it flowered also.

Oh yeh, forgot that it was a grafted specimen.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. This has been an interesting read.

Can anyone confirm that 'Wildfire' does produce fruit? I cannot find any definitive info online. I have read alternately that it does fruit (from some growers and retailers), while others have said it is a male clone and does not fruit. Does anyone have a 'Wildfire' that has produced fruit? Any photos? Thanks.

I have flower buds right now I'll update you on what they amount to. Its the only Nyssa I know of on the block so I dunno if it is self fertile. On a dry day I'll crawl about and take pics of the trunk also. My pruning job isn't as good as others but I think the tree will outgrow it.

Pics of my experiment tree. All callused up and looking good so far - Tree

Oh wow, that has done nicely. Good work!

Thanks, Toro!

ps - did all of my previous pics disappear??? =*(

Edit: just read imageshack changed their hosting policy last November and I had until January to download my images. Everything on my imageshack has been deleted by them because my account was considered abandoned. So pretty much 90+% of the images I linked to in the old GW posts/topics will now be blank. Epic.

I've learned that 'Wildfire' is a male clone and will not produce fruit, the very reason I planted two in my yard! Many growers still list it as producing abundant fruits... false!

Since the original photos were lost I'll post a summary or pics:

After the top died I was was left with this Nyssa bush late summer/early fall

Here is what the "trunk(s)" looked like up close

I pruned the competing stems out late winter a few months later in this pic

Edit: This is actually a growing season after I did the initial pruning which I don't have a picture of. Basically I made heading cuts on the other thick competing leader to encourage sideways branching growth (which the tree ignored and shot straight up just below the pruning cuts!). Then after that growing season was over, I pruned it into this pic.

full tree at the same time of the pruning

Here is the callus after 1 growing season (approx. 6 months later)

Here is the callus already closed early the next growing season

Next year callus at the end of the growing season (approx. 16 months since the above pics)

And the full view of the tree (fall sucked this year and it already dropped a lot of leaves without color)

The tree is about 15-18' tall here although it is hard to tell from the pic

Wow j0nd03, yours has sealed up nicely. I kinda like the pics all lined up in a row btw. Later I'll get a pic of mine. Its a year or so behind yours in encapsulation. I never was thrilled with the angle on a couple of the cuts I made so I blamed that.

Awesome, Toro! I was hoping you would see the update and put all of your pics on here, too!!! Can't wait to see them

Wow, tree looks great!

Check out them moving tan spots on the trunk in the bottom two oics taken one after another. At first I thought leaves were blowing by. Any idea what trick of cell photography causes that?

Next year I hope it looks as good as yours J0nd03.

I'll have a run at combining some pics and reposting iver the next few days. I was busy tonight finding Uranus in the telescope. It took a few moments of star hopping in these soupy skies.

I bet the callus on your tree closes off by the end of next growing season. The tree itself looks great! Very healthy and growing well =)

Fall was strange this year. My wildfire was still largely green last week and settled into a dark red / brown after a couple nights in the 20's. Old main species trees are still showing 10 out of 10 GREAT fall color.

Now its red and unique all growing season and maybe because of that the fall color is still good but not as striking as regular nyssas IMO.

Its probably one step better looking in person than my cell captured. Thats a Metasequoia and my neighbor's broken Bradford in steps back to the right for reference.

These pics are 9 days old. Another thread just got me thinkings about this one. Forever I've left any buds down low on that outside piece of the trunk go figuring they give the tree SOME reason to keep the juices flowing over there. They necer amount to much and I dunno of they've helped. I find the red new growth quite pleasing this year even if I couldn't get a good picture of the whole tree.

Drat, found a soft spot there above that last bit which needed encapsulation. I cut back the rot and found the tree to be growing around it already. What you all think? 3 years before thats closed off?

Huh, I can still update the old thread.

Should close off in 2 yrs. You were correct to clean it out to help it dry.

How’s it looking these days ?

oh my, sorry I missed the question. It is looking pretty darned good.

Huh, the new phone lets me post photos out of Firefox. This is from early summer I think.

Just posting the usual fall photos. For other trees it was a great fall, the Nyssa is doing its thing as usual.

Looks great!

This is j0nd03. I can't log in with my old username for some reason.

Toro, your tree is looking might happy!

Mine has actually flowered the last two years but did not bear fruit so I guess it is a male. I have four other blackgums planted on the property so hopefully at least one of them gives me some babies in the future!

That would be neat! My yard mostly gives me redbuds lol. I can grow redbuds like no one's business. The Ash, Walnuts and even some variety of Cornus volunteers pop up but the Cornus never seem to make it.

Next year I'll be on the lookout for Nyssa flowers and let you know what I get.

looks like it is going to be a bumper crop this year;

Best year yet for fall color. Maybe its been in the ground long enough, the dry mild fall?

Best year yet for fall color. Maybe its been in the ground long enough, the dry mild fall?

A thing of beauty

Some Nyssa berries from a tree on a lakeshore in PA. Sour like little lemons.

Just doing a little light pruning to maintain mower clearance. All the rain laterly. You can still see the line...

I was reading some before and after posts. Guess gardenweb never closes these.

Here's mine. About 25' tall or so. Thick trunk. Somewhere around 8-10" diameter. Absolutely loaded with fruit this year. First time for that. It started to make last year then aborted all of them.

This is j0nd03 BTW =)

John, I think yours is outgrowing mine.

How has your fall color been?

Of all of my black gums, this one is consistently the worst of the bunch but it did have decent color last year. It hangs onto the leaves way too long and a freeze gets it almost every year. Must have been a southern seed source.

Today, May 9 2025