They are beautiful on other gardeners property. Most years I have to rake multiple times to keep them from blanketing the garden plants, but this year the rain was so persistent that when I could finely rake, all the leaves were down. Al

This one is in a spot where the leaf fall does not have much to bother..planted beneath and around it are tagetes lemmonii, salvia discolor and a rambling peppermint geranium...the salvia sagittatas seem to have been lost due to lack of watering, the 'sputniks' fall on a mulched path and I periodically rake them to the side. The other 3 liqidambars that I have are younger, but in an area that I've since let go in maintaining and will go to seasonal grass, so they won't be a problem there either.
Yes, it's one tree that most don't like for it's pods or whatever, but it's one that I will plant again wherever I am.

I love them too, not just for their color and shape, but in large part because of fond memories the middle school battles we waged with the green spiky seedballs. That is what you are reduced to as a kid when it never snows in your town.

We used oranges.

Those Liquidambar seed pods are bad news for bike tires. Even Mr. Tuffy tube protectors are no match for them.

Too bad they don't do the same for dirt bike tires...I'd pay good money to dump them all over my neighbor's property....lol..

If you're paying good money, there are plenty of other ways to deal with pesky things like dirt bikes. The easiest way would be to leverage the state's convoluted political climate. Sacrificing personal liberties or inhibiting commerce to save the environment is a slam dunk.

Didn't it seem late this year? My Ash ( Mendocino? ) tree was getting getting golden leaves around new years and the rose parade coverage showed fall colors outside the Norton Simon Museum of Art when the bands marched by. A few days later, a fierce wind tried to blow them all away. Near the 15 fwy on Cajelco Road there are some very pretty golden trees right now. Fall seems late this year. Do you think the coldest weather is still waiting to come on?

Yes, seems like things are later this year. It never really got warm (relatively speaking, of course) over summer or fall here. The one surviving liquidambar I have is still mostly green and all my various maples are very much later than their usual.

Who knows? 3 younger liquidambars here have been bare for awhile, the big one sometimes hangs onto some leaves into spring, still colored. I have quite a few ash...some are bare, some are green some turning golden