Quick Facts
Exposure: Sun or Shade
Height at Maturity: 100-130 Feet
Usage: Landscaping
Shipped As: Bare-root
Planting Zones: 4-9
Product Details
We ship bare-root sycamore trees in November 2026, in 1 to 2, 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 foot sizes. Packs run 25, 50, 100 and 500. These are American sycamores, Platanus occidentalis.
American Sycamore Size and Age
The native range runs from Iowa to Ontario and New Hampshire, and south to Texas and Florida. Most trees on deep soil reach 98 to 131 feet. The largest on record, in Indiana, stood 168 feet high and 126 inches across. In good conditions a young tree adds 3 to 4 feet in its first year. A sycamore usually lives more than 200 years, and some may reach 500 to 600.
Why Sycamore Bark Peels
Sycamore bark is stiff and does not stretch. As the trunk grows, the bark sheds in large flat pieces. That leaves the cream, gray and olive patches the tree is known for. The leaves are 4 to 9 inches long, with 3 to 5 lobes, and new leaves and twigs are covered in pale fine hairs.
Hollow Trunks and Wildlife
Old sycamores often hollow out, and the cavities get used. Bats, wood ducks, barred owls, screech owls and chimney swifts nest in them. The largest ones have held black bear dens. In 1744, Joseph Hampton and his two sons lived most of a year inside a hollow sycamore in Clarke County, Virginia. Around 1770, George Washington measured one near Point Pleasant at 44 feet 10 inches around.
Sycamore Seeds and Wood
A sycamore bears seed at 6 or 7 years in open ground. The seed balls break up in spring, and each seed carries hairs that work as a parachute. A pound holds about 200,000. The wood is heavy and light brown tinged with red. It has been used for butcher blocks, crates, furniture and musical instruments. The Buttonwood Agreement that founded the New York Stock Exchange was signed under a sycamore in 1792.
Good to Know About Sycamore
Give it room. The root system is wide and branching, which keeps big trees standing in wind. Wet ground suits it, and it grows well beside streams and ponds.
Ordering Sycamore Trees in Bulk
Keep the roots damp from the day the box opens. Volume pricing available on all four pack sizes. Our guide to fast growing trees for large landscapes covers where sycamore fits, and shade trees for Tennessee homes covers the rest. You can also browse more trees for sale.