Thank you for your feedback! TT is the one that we were most leaning toward since it kind of fits the hole that the aspen will leave. I appreciate the reference to Digger magazine and will check it out!

Reading up, it appears that most sites list it as a tree that needs acidic soil. I find this interesting since Nyssa is also listed as an Indiana native. The entire state is pretty alkaline since we are on limestone bedrock. Water out of the tap is 8.0+ pH (I have a pond so test it regularly).

This makes me wonder if I'm going to end up w/ a chlorotic tree, constantly fighting issues. Again, puzzling since it's a native.

Chasing my tail looking for a good tree here. LOL

Don't give up on Nyssa sylvatica over soil pH. Louisville's finest collection of 20+ odd Blackgum are growing on the ridge of Seneca Golf Course, about as limestone-based karst topography soil as you'll find. Mulch with plenty of organic matter over time, and I suspect you will do fine.

I would amend your water though.

Agree with VV - it's worth a try (unless maybe you're in a neighborhood where most of the topsoil was removed during construction and all you have left is subsoil). Blackgum is native to Marion County (see this map from indiana.plantatlas), but is much less common to the north of Indy than to the south. Keep in mind that blackgum is pretty slow growing in colder zones, especially if soil conditions are less than ideal. The Tupelo Tower pictured above was planted as a 2" caliper tree in late fall of 2010 (photo was taken 10/1/21). Our Red Rage have been even slower.

Thanks so much for your thoughts (hello old friend, VV!). This is great information and cements my resolve. Our house is 116 yrs old so the soil isn't too bad. I'm going to give it a whirl. I figure it can't possibly be a worst decision than the aspen will turn out to be! LOL

Hi back, @ademink! It has been a few moons.

And...Red Rage™ is a Hoosier! It was found in Tell City, Indiana by the gentleman named in the linked article - who is NOT from Indiana, but who does live in Louisville and assembled the previously mentioned Nyssa grove at Seneca Golf Course.

You could do worse than come down and visit, and tour the grove and the neighborhood arboretum growing nearby in Seneca Gardens. Nothing like a little field work to help you come to a positive conclusion.

hi

hahahaha

@ViburnumValley central KY Bluegrass z6 - I REALLY need to get there and see everything! It has been years of saying "some day"...I need to do it before I'm dead! lol

We'll be here all week...

Open arms, cold craft beer, wines of your choice, maybe even Bourbon - and plenty of plant opportunities. You name the time and place, and you'll be squired around in style.

@viburnumvalley I believe I’ve seen you mention this golf course on other Nyssa posts! You should take some pics to show us the different specimens ! What’s your personal favorite

@arbordave do you have any pics of its fall color ? How do you like the fall color ? Your pic has me thinking I will be getting a tulepo tower. I thought about red rage but in pics I noticed no strong leader and it looking top heavy. I saw pictures of fire starter somewhere and that was a beautiful tree as well

Jameszone7a, the photo below (taken 10/21/22) is the same Tupelo Tower pictured above. Fall color on our Tupelo Towers has generally been a decent yellow/gold with perhaps a little orange. If you're looking for a good orange/red to red it's probably not going to be the best choice. The main reasons we like TT are its upright form, cold hardiness, and adaptability - so far it has grown reasonably well in our variable soils as long as there is adequate moisture. We'll probably plant a few more Northern Splendors this year too (if we can find them), since it also has good hardiness.

At your location, where hardiness isn't as much of a concern, you may want to try one of the other new varieties like Afterburner, Firestarter, or Green Gable, which are supposed to have superior orange/red to red fall color.

@arbordave I appreciate the response ! I have green gable and wildfire in my back yard and love them. Looks like this will be my first winter without dieback on the tips of my wildfire ! I like the size of tulepo tower and while the color is nice I agree others have better. I do like the form comment you made which is important. I’ll search for an afterburner which is similar in size. Not as much first hand information about all the different nyssas as there should be online…such a great tree.

I ended up with TT! Looking forward to seeing it "do its thing" this year!

Hello Ademink - just checking in to see how did your TT do in terms of fall color. James- tell us about your nyssas..