This makes it a great choice for naturalized plantings or screens where it can spread freely.
But sassafras can also be grown as a single specimen.
Sassafras isdioecious, with female and male flowers on separate trees.
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Male flowers look fuller and only female trees develop fruit if pollinated.
You do not need to plant more than one tree unless you would like it to develop fruit.
Many species of birds and songbirds, including wild turkeys and mockingbirds, eat its bluish-black, drupe-shaped fruit.
Sassafras Care
Sassafras is a low-maintenance, hardy tree.
The only regular care it requires is when you grow it as a specimen tree.
The leaves of sassafras are edible and quite tasty.
They are mildly citric, slightly like lemongrass.
Depending on the location, the canopy is different.
The tree does not tolerate deep shade.
Soil
Sassafras grows well inloamyas well as sandy soil.
Good soil drainage is especially important.
The tree does not tolerate soggy soil.
Water
Young trees need to be watered until they are established.
In colder climate, the tree develops a more shrub-like appearance.
Sassafras stands can be pruned to give the thickets a neater appearance but its not essential for tree health.
Propagating Sassafras
Because of their large taproot, sassafras is difficult to transplant.
Container-grown nursery trees have the best chances of survival.
The other serious pest is the sassafras borer.
The larvae bore holes in the bark of the terminal (i.e.
Young trees are especially susceptible and might die if the infestation is major.
Woodpeckers might come to your rescue by eating small numbers of the larvae and pupae.
The tree is also vulnerable to ice storm damage.
Sassafras is a low-maintenance tree, drought-tolerant, and fairly pest-resistant.
In the right conditions, sassafras trees can grow as much as 4 feet per year.
Sassafras trees rarely live longer than 30 years.
