Platanus occidentalis (Sycamore)
Platanus occidentalis (Sycamore)
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$30 minimum per species for seed.
Each species requires a minimum of $30 of seed to proceed with checkout.
Pure Live Seed
Pure Live Seed
Seed is provided in Pure Live Seed (PLS) unless otherwise stated.
Pure Live Seed (PLS) refers to the percentage of a seed lot that consists of the desired species and is viable (capable of germination).
Here's why PLS is crucial for native seeds:
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Accurate Planting:
- PLS helps determine the actual number of viable seeds in a given weight or volume of seed.
- This ensures you plant the correct amount of seed to achieve the desired density and success rate.
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Cost-Effectiveness:
- By knowing the PLS, you can avoid overspending on seed that may not germinate.
- This is especially important for native seeds, which can be more expensive than some cultivated varieties.
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Weed Control:
- PLS helps minimize the presence of weed seeds within the seed lot.
- This reduces competition for resources and ensures the successful establishment of the desired native plants.
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Ecological Restoration:
- Using high-quality native seeds with a high PLS is essential for successful ecological restoration projects.
- It helps to re-establish diverse and resilient plant communities that support local wildlife.
Weight Conversions lbs. to oz.
Weight Conversions lbs. to oz.
0.01 pounds = 0.16 ounces
- 0.1 pounds = 1.6 ounces
- 0.25 pounds = 4 ounces
- 0.5 pounds = 8 ounces
- 0.75 pounds = 12 ounces
- 1.00 pounds = 16 ounces
American sycamore grows fairly quickly into a very large tree with an irregular crown. Moist ground and ample space are more important than a particular soil texture.
For Platanus occidentalis, choose full to partial sun and moist to mesic soil. Recorded habitats include bottomland woods; Mesic woods; Wooded stream and river banks; Higher swamp ground; Shaded seeps. Reported height: 60-140 ft.
Leave room for the mature branches beside paths and nearby plantings. Growth habit: broad, irregular crown in open sites; smaller, narrower crown in woods. Root structure: widely spreading, branched woody roots.
Plant specifications & ecological relationships
Key growing facts
| Sunlight | Full to partial sun |
|---|---|
| Soil moisture | Moist to mesic |
| Height | 60-140 ft |
| Bloom season | Spring |
Show / hide ▾Growing & planting details
| Growth habit | Broad, irregular crown in open sites; smaller, narrower crown in woods |
|---|---|
| Root form | Widely spreading, branched woody roots |
| Soil pH | NC State lists acidic, alkaline, neutral soil conditions; no optimal numeric interval is established. |
| Cultivation hardiness zones | Zones 4a–9b (NC State cultivation guidance) |
| Drought tolerance | Drought tolerance reported by NC State; establishment needs and duration are not specified. |
| Deer browsing | White-tailed deer browse leaves and twigs to a limited extent. |
| Salt tolerance | None |
Plant identification & seed reference
| Botanical name | Platanus occidentalis |
|---|---|
| Other common names | sycamore; American Plane Tree; American Sycamore; Buttonball Tree; Buttonwood; Eastern Sycamore; Sycamore |
| Seed germination | USDA lists cold stratification as not required; seed-lot response may vary. |
| Plant family | Platanaceae |
| Seeds per pound — reference estimate | 192000 |
Plant characteristics
Platanus occidentalis (Sycamore) is a charming tree with its huge leaves and its brown bark giving way to a white mottled bark towards the top. An excellent tree for medium to wet soils that grow fast and lives to be up to 250 years! A common landscaping tree of parks it also works well in yards where you have the room to let this tree thrive. Commonly found in wet floodplains, swamps, and wet forests in natural areas in Illinois.
Show / hide ▾Native range & C-value
| Wetland indicator — NWPL 2022 Midwest | FACW |
|---|---|
| C-value — Chicago region, Flora 2017 | 5 |
| Chicago-region native — Flora 2017 | Yes |
| Native range — U.S. states | Alabama; Arkansas; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Mississippi; Missouri; Nebraska; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Ohio; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; Vermont; Virginia; West Virginia; Wisconsin |
| County nativity | Not yet verified; occurrence records do not establish nativity. |
Show / hide ▾Plant communities & associates
Other regional plant communities
These plants are named with this species in published vegetation accounts. Each list keeps its community and region; some records describe a shared vegetation type rather than neighboring plants in a measured plot. They are ecological records, not a planting recipe, and may include plants unsuitable for a particular garden.
- Floodplain forest across different flooding elevations (Illinois): Acer saccharinum.
- Mesic hardwood and bottomland forest communities (Midwestern and northern Mississippi Valley): Celtis occidentalis.
- Bottomland forest trees (Northern Forest Region): Acer saccharinum.
- Bottomland forest trees (New York): Acer saccharinum.
- Bottomland forest (Eastern North America): Ulmus spp., Fraxinus spp., Populus deltoides, Salix spp..
- Riparian trees and shrubs (Eastern North America; account synthesis): Salix nigra.
Show / hide ▾Pollinators & wildlife
Caterpillars & other plant-feeding insects
This plant has published caterpillar host records for the butterflies and moths listed below. These are larval feeding relationships, separate from adult nectar visits. The records span a North American literature compilation and do not establish that every insect occurs locally or uses only this plant.
Butterflies & skippers
- Papilio glaucus — Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Moths
- Ancylis divisana — Two-Toned Ancylis
- Ancylis platanana — Sycamore Leafroller
- Citheronia regalis — Royal Walnut Moth, Hickory Horned Devil
- Eacles imperialis — Imperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
- Ectoedemia clemensella
- Ectoedemia platanella
- Euzophera semifuneralis — American Plum Borer
- Halysidota harrisii — Harris's Tussock Moth, Sycamore Tussock Moth
- Misogada unicolor — Drab Prominent
- Pococera militella — Sycamore Webworm
- Synanthedon resplendens — Sycamore Borer Moth
Leafhopper hosts
The INHS revision lists this plant as a host for the following Eratoneura leafhoppers. These plant-feeding insects are distinct from caterpillars and flower visitors.
- Eratoneura arta
- Eratoneura bella
- Eratoneura hymettana
- Eratoneura ingrata
- Eratoneura lawsoni
- Eratoneura morgani
- Eratoneura torella
- Eratoneura usitata
Host names follow the 2010 taxonomic revision. Its distribution records do not establish a host observation at your planting site.
Show / hide ▾Frequently asked questions
What are the ideal growing conditions for Sycamore?
Platanus occidentalis performs best in full sun to partial sun with mesic to wet (floodplain bottomlands & riverbanks) conditions. It thrives in authentic regional soil types ranging from sandy loam to well-drained clay loams.
How do I germinate and establish Sycamore from seed?
Seed of Platanus occidentalis has a germination code of Code A (no pre-treatment required). Seeds can be sown directly in spring into warm, prepared soil.
Is Sycamore deer and herbivore resistant?
Yes. Native plants adapted to Midwestern habitats naturally produce protective secondary compounds and fibrous textures that make them highly resistant to deer, rabbits, and other grazing herbivores.
When should I expect Sycamore to emerge and bloom?
Established plants break dormancy in spring as soil temperatures warm, developing vigorous foliage before blooming in their seasonal window to provide vital nectar when native pollinators need it most.
Show / hide ▾Sources & ecological notes
Chicago-region assessment: Wilhelm & Rericha (2017), Flora of the Chicago Region, via Kenneth Johnson’s Universal FQA dataset (2018). Chicago-region native status is separate from U.S. nativity.
The C-value and Chicago-region native status shown here also agree with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chicago Region FQA dataset (2017), distributed through the USACE/ERDC fqadata package under CC0.
Flora of the Chicago Region (2017) records this taxon as native in the Chicago region.
The state list describes native botanical distribution. It does not establish county nativity or occurrence, suitability for every site, or the origin of the plants and seeds offered here. An unlisted state is not proof of absence.
Range data: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; 4 June 2026 release, accessed 7 September 2026. © The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. CC BY 3.0; selected and reformatted. Kew cannot warrant the quality or accuracy of these data. This use has no Kew endorsement.
State and county nativity: The state list uses WCVP records marked native, excluding introduced, extinct and doubtful records. County nativity has not yet been verified for this listing. Presence in a county or preserve does not establish nativity there.
Plant communities: USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System (FEIS): Acer saccharinum; Celtis occidentalis; Platanus occidentalis; Salix nigra. Selected association facts regrouped in original wording; regional scope retained. No source photographs or captions reproduced.
Caterpillar host records: Shropshire, K.J. & Tallamy, D.W. (2025), Lepidoptera of North America, Supplement 1. Contains information from this database made available under the Open Database License (ODbL 1.0). Natural Communities selected species-level records and screened source qualifications. The complete selection and transformation instructions for this page are available below under the same license.
Leafhopper records: Dmitriev, D.A. & Dietrich, C.H. (2010), Review of New World Erythroneurini IV: Eratoneura, Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 39(3):79–258. © 2010 University of Illinois Board of Trustees; CC BY 4.0. Explicit host treatments selected and regrouped by Natural Communities. PDF treatment pages: Eratoneura arta, Eratoneura bella, Eratoneura hymettana, Eratoneura ingrata, Eratoneura lawsoni, Eratoneura morgani, Eratoneura torella, Eratoneura usitata.
C-value source: Flora of the Chicago Region (2017), Universal FQA database 80. Matched source taxon: Platanus occidentalis. Exact.
Sources checked September 5, 2026. Regional assessments and growing observations apply to their stated settings. Unverified fields are omitted; missing information does not mean an ecological relationship is absent.
- Illinois Wildflowers — John Hilty. Limited botanical facts presented in Natural Communities’ own wording. Source-specific observations retain their stated scope; photographs, original descriptive prose and compiled relationship tables are excluded. Supports: Bloom Season; Deer Resistance; Height; Opening botanical description; Primary Native Habitats; Root Architecture & Depth; Soil Moisture Range; Spread Habit; Sun Exposure; Sunlight Exposure.
- Universal FQA — Flora-linked Chicago database 80. Taxonomic names, family and regional nativity originally checked against Kenneth Johnson’s Flora-linked database 80 (2018), citing Wilhelm & Rericha (2017). Limited factual identification only; the C-value follows this Flora-linked database wherever an exact or documented synonym match is available. Supports: Alternate Common Names; Botanical Name; Chicago-region native status; Plant Family.
- USACE/ERDC fqadata — Chicago Region FQA 2017. Herman, B., Sliwinski, R. & Whitaker, S. (2017), Chicago Region FQA Calculator; distributed by USACE/ERDC in fqadata under CC0. Values may differ from Flora of the Chicago Region (2017). CC0 dedication. Retained for comparison; the displayed C-value follows Flora database 80.
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Limited botanical facts presented in Natural Communities’ own wording. Source-specific observations retain their stated scope; photographs, original descriptive prose and compiled relationship tables are excluded. Supports: Alternate Common Names; Drought Tolerance; Soil pH Range; USDA Hardiness Zones.
- USDA NRCS PLANTS — taxon profile and characteristics. USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, checked September 5, 2026. Numeric and categorical taxon-level facts only; no photographs or third-party guide prose reproduced. Supports: Germination Code; Salt Tolerance; Seeds per pound — USDA reference estimate.
- USACE National Wetland Plant List 2022 — Midwest. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2022 National Wetland Plant List, Midwest region; effective February 13, 2024. Federal data. Supports: Wetland Indicator Status.
- USDA Forest Service — FEIS, wildflower accounts and seed manual. Taylor, Jennifer L. 2001. Populus deltoides. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System. Public-domain synthesis; community records retain their reported geography. Supports: Documented community associate: Populus deltoides.
- Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin — Eratoneura paper. Dietrich, C.H. & Dmitriev, D.A. (2010), Review of the Species of New World Erythroneurini, IV. Genus Eratoneura. Copyright University of Illinois Board of Trustees. CC BY 4.0; selected host records summarized and reformatted. No endorsement implied. CC BY 4.0. Supports: Leafhopper host record: Eratoneura arta; Leafhopper host record: Eratoneura bella; Leafhopper host record: Eratoneura hymettana; Leafhopper host record: Eratoneura ingrata; Leafhopper host record: Eratoneura lawsoni; Leafhopper host record: Eratoneura morgani; Leafhopper host record: Eratoneura torella; Leafhopper host record: Eratoneura usitata. Source locators: page=119, page=120, page=122, page=123, page=124, page=66, page=67.
Flora rating attribution: Kenneth Johnson (2018), Flora of the Chicago Region UFQA Database, following Gerould Wilhelm and Laura Rericha (2017), Flora of the Chicago Region: A Floristic and Ecological Synthesis. Individual rating facts are presented with original commentary; the calculator’s software license is not treated as a license for the underlying Flora publication.
Historical botanical names remain visible where used by the source. These regional accounts supplement the available Chicago Flora evidence.
Reusable research data
{"title":"Natural Communities selected host records for Platanus occidentalis","source":"Shropshire, K.J. & Tallamy, D.W. (2025). Lepidoptera of North America, north of Mexico: an annotated list containing geographic ranges and host-plant records. Supplement 1.","source_doi":"https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1261.160796.suppl1","download":"https://binary.pensoft.net/file/1478226","source_sha256":"250a11ec19c89f81374af3bc632f6897491cbe540edb09ccdaf298dc73bf9472","license":"ODbL-1.0","license_url":"https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/","method":"Complete machine-readable selection and alteration file under ODbL section 4.6(b). In source worksheet UDELep May 2025, select only rows whose column A UDLepID appears in selection. Each selection entry contains [retained source plant names, selected insect IDs]. Create one record per selected ID and retained plant name; these are reported larval hosts. Scientific insect name is the first two whitespace-separated tokens of column H; common name is E; source category is AB. Other source fields are unchanged and are not part of this derived table. No other rows or host pairs are used on this page. Group Butterfly and Skipper categories together, and other categories as moths; retain exotic category labels. Display names are sorted by scientific insect name.","plant":"Platanus occidentalis","scope":"Host literature synthesis; no county nativity or local insect occurrence inferred.","selection":[[["Platanus occidentalis"],["200845","200861","203012","204360","204381","204386","205865","206605","208416","209314","210280","212172"]]]}
Plant Shipping & Care
Plant Shipping & Care
We want to ensure that our customers get what they want, a native backyard oasis. To do that, we need to follow a few simple guidelines and give you some information and pointers to make sure you get your plants delivered in a healthy state.
As a reminder, you will receive an email to confirm your pickup or shipping window just before the plants are ready. See Order Fulfillment below for seasonal fulfillment windows.
Choices to Receive Your Plants & Accessories
- Retail - We only offer shipping & shipping is calculated at check out*
- We do not offer retail pick up
- Wholesale - Delivery is customized based on order size and location
- Wholesale - Pickup is free
Order Fulfilment - When Your Plants or Other Items Will Be Ready
We take orders all year long and seed is shipped all year, but we only provide the plants to you in certain fulfillment windows to ensure healthy plants.
Wholesale Orders
- Shipped or are Ready For Pick Up As Requested.
Retail & Website Orders
- Seed Typically Ships Out Within One Week Of Order All Year Long
- Typically, single species flats ship when ready, sometimes as soon as early to mid-April (depends on weather) through early-October.
- Mixed species kits are batched and shipped as indicated on the product page.
- If a plant order is placed while outside of the plant fulfillment window your plants will be reserved through your payment, however, the order will not be fulfilled and shipped until the following spring. We don't want to provide you plants when they won't be happy during the cold winter months.
- Early in the spring and later in the fall certain species may be dormant or partially dormant with brown leaves, however they will return to grow healthy next growing season.
- Your order may arrive in several different shipments.
- If certain plants within an order will not be available until a later date, we may choose to hold the full order until all are ready. In certain circumstances, we may choose to send them in two separate shipments
- Fulfillment is always dependent upon plant availability. We try our best but sometimes plants do not overwinter well and perish. If a plant is on back order you will receive an email indicating the estimated shipping date. If we can not provide the plant we will first notify you and give you an option of substitution or a refund of that individual species.
- Plants are typically only packaged and shipped on Mondays to ensure they do not sit in the harsh delivery facility for extended periods of time over the weekend. You will receive a confirmation email once your delivery has been shipped and to estimate your delivery date.
- Apparel & accessories are ready typically within one to two weeks. See product page for holiday shipping.
Where We Ship
What to Expect When Receiving Your Delivery
- Your plants will be packaged with the utmost care
- We will need to cut back certain plants prior to shipping. This seems counter-intuitive, however, the fewer leaves the less water the plants can lose during shipping, resulting in healthier plants for you. This also enables the plants to fit within the protective packaging and shipped safely.
Shipments
- Larger plant shipments will look similar to the picture below with a tray of your plants and a cardboard box to protect them during shipping.
What to Do With Your Plants After Receiving Your Delivery
- Unpack your order IMMEDIATELY
- Inspect for damage and report any issues immediately to Natives@NaturalCommunities.net
- Water your plants
- Install your plants as quickly as possible and water the entire garden area thoroughly
- If you cannot install your plants immediately
- Some plants may not be in a container, put them into some kind of a container such as a paper cup with loose soil until installation
- Make sure each plant is receiving the appropriate amount of light.
- Continue to water daily each morning and possibly again in the afternoon
- No additional fertilizer is needed
Seed Shipping & Care
Seed Shipping & Care
There is a minimum order requirement of $30 for each seed species. Seed ships all year and typically ships within a week of an order being placed.
We have attempted to put together some basic information regarding native seed installation, establishment, and maintenance. We hope you find it helpful. If you need further assistance on native seed establishment, please schedule a free consolation call here.
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