Sycamores: not ideal for landscaping

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Most people wouldn’t and shouldn’t plant sycamore trees in their yards as their limbs tend to break and fall and their leaves last forever. The leaves are thick and very large, looking a little like maples. They persist all through winter and really don’t break down unless you run the lawn mower over them but are shelter for small creatures. Limbs that break off make essential nesting sites for many birds and mammals that need cavities for protection when raising young. Sycamores reproductive structures are round balls, the seeds are tiny but used by many song birds, and unlike sweet gum balls, they aren’t prickly. I left a sycamore limb with balls on the back seat of my car and when I finally at last went to clean it, there were hundreds of small nutritious seeds.