N.s. 'David Odom' (Afterburner®)
F – Spectacular fall color
N.s. 'Forum' (Forum) F – Excellent form
N.s. 'Green Gable' (Green Gable™)
M – Excellent form and color
N.s. 'Haymanred' (Red Rage®)
M – Still evaluating
N.s. 'JFS-PN Legacy1' (Gum Drop®)
M – Smaller, tighter form with good color
N.s. 'JFS-red' (Firestarter®)
M – Still evaluating
N.s. 'Northern Splendor'
(Northern Splendor™) F – Most
cold hardy with more fruit
N.s. 'Red Splyndor' (Red Splyndor®)
F – Still evaluating
N.s. 'The James' (Forest Fire™)
Still evaluating
N.s. 'Tupelo Tower' (Tupelo Tower™)
F – Most narrow upright form
N.s. 'Wildfire' (Wildfire)
M – Red tipped leaves
throughout the summer
N.s. 'Zydeco Twist' (Zydeco Twist)
M – An ornamental specimen
with twisting curling twigs
Fortunately, several years ago, observant
growers began to select forms that appeared
to reflect the best of what Nyssa sylvatica
has to offer. This selection process has
been going on for centuries with all kinds of
plants, but it has taken a while for growers
to recognize Nyssa sylvatica as a tree worth
cultivating. Turns out, it has enormous
potential as an urban tree because it is tol-
erant of both wet and dry conditions, has
few if any insect or disease issues in most
locations, and has bright green shiny leaves
that turn the most spectacular red color in
the fall. There's wildlife value, too—female
cultivars bear the small blue-black fruits
that songbirds and many mammals eat.
Cultivars offer consistent form and color—at
least, that is the goal, and I believe the cul-
tivars are true to their form for the most
part. However, reversions happen and can
be frustrating. I have seen at least one of
these Nyssa cultivars that's supposed to
have a strong central leader revert to irreg-
ular branching—similar to what I have seen
in some of the preferred forms of ginkgo.
Knowing how useful they could be for
the urban forest, I am fixated on finding
the perfect Nyssa, or at least the best
ones, for urban use. That is why we are
growing and evaluating twelve of the
latest available Nyssa sylvatica cultivars at
Urban Forest Nursery in Mount Vernon,
Washington. They are listed with my obser-
vations; note F=Female and M=Male:
32 CityTREES
