Forgot to add that you may get a better response on your questions about the Mexican Sycamore leaves over on the GW trees forum. Also, the linked article includes a difference in the shape of the base of the leaves that may be a more reliable differentiator than color - at least on trees old enough to have their mature leaves.

Imagine the seedballs might put off some folks as with sweetgum, but otherwise looks like a very nice quick tree option for alkaline soils where it can survive the extreme lows.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Mexican Sycamore - Platanus mexicana

This post was edited by bostedo on Wed, Nov 13, 13 at 10:41

If you want to avoid big box stores, I've seen MS trees at Natural Gardener's in west Austin.

Here is a link that might be useful: Natural Gardener

How could I have forgotten the Natural Gardener? That may make a good excuse to get out that way.

I'm not sure why, but it seems like the "true" ones I see planted around here are the larger, like 45g plus ones. I sure don't want to dig that big of hole!

I just noticed that two of my neighbors on my street planted 30 or 45g MS in the their backyards. Ouch. I had to get boulders out of the ground in my backyard just to plant 1g trees! Man, that was hard work!

Is there any substantial difference between a Mexican sycamore and an American sycamore tree? From a shade standpoint they ought to be pretty similar. The leaves aren't systematically the same within varieties, and allegedly differ only by a lobe in the leaves.

The most important thing to remember when planting a tree in Austin is to water it regularly and deeply during its first few years of life or the drought will kill it, especially if there's a good reason why you are relying on it for shade.

Anybody know what is the advantage of Mexican Sycamore over American in Central Texas?

While the American ones are native to riparian areas here, the Mexican ones are better suited to landscape situations. They seem to hold up better to dryer conditions as well as better disease resistance. While this was an article in the Dallas newspaper, the same applies here:https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/2017/06/14/why-the-mexican-sycamore-is-better-for-texas-than-our-native-tree/. I can't find a link right now, but it sounds like many of the Mexican Sycamores being labeled as such are actually crosses between the American and Mexican. They apparently can still have the problems of the American ones.

All that said, I never did find a true Mexican Sycamore and ended up going with a Mexican Mountain Maple, which has done quite well for me. I still find it very frustrating that it's so hard to find the real deal though. There's a few people in my neighborhood that have sizable ones. They're beautiful trees.

You could try getting a cutting and seeing if you could grow it. Or a root graph. I have never done one of those. ... or some seed , but then it could be a hybrid with an American one in the neighborhood. Have you tried Ted's Trees?...or nurseries in San Antonio

BJB, are you in Central Texas, or Dallas? We have Sycamore's on the river here, but I never know their source. Seem to need alot of water, or else they just grew there from seed because of the water. I always think of them as hard to grow for some reason...I gues I've heard fire blight or other issues with them.

Fannick's in SA would be a good place to ask. And look into air layering. That is a neat way to propagate.

I'm in Austin.

Interestingly, the city of Leon Valley, which is near San Antonio, is offering free trees, including Mexican sycamore, to residents in honor of Arbor Day. My point in posting this is to say they are out there! Maybe other cities will be offering them as well.

"In partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and Texas A&M Forest Service, the City of Leon Valley is offering a limited number of free trees to homeowners in the Leon Valley area through the Community Canopy program. ... Leon Valley area residents can reserve their free trees at arborday.org/leonvalley. Customers can reserve up to two trees and are expected to care for and plant them in the location provided by the online tool. The types of trees offered include the following: Baldcypress, Mexican Buckeye and Mexican Sycamore."

More information is available at arborday.org.

Time's may have changed, but historically the trees associated with that program have been less than impressive. I'd love to hear back on that though. I seem to remember seedling pines in a tube....called liners in the trade I believe.