Q: I wonder if you could give me advice on which kind of sycamore — the California or the London plane — I should plant? A number of years ago, we lost a big old mulberry that was kind of on its side ...

We love the sycamore for its large leaves and cool canopy, and for a curious bark that peels to reveal a mottled pattern of greys and browns. However, we are not so sure about its fruits — at least, ...

Our native Plane Tree evokes California’s wild nature, picturesque streams and open spaces. One of our most striking natives, its growth is unpredictable, with gracefully contorted and twisted ...

The California sycamore (Platanus racemosa) is big, bold, and full of surprises. Found beside rivers, at the bottoms of canyons, and in the foothills of mountains in the western United States, this ...

Q. Our sycamore tree always looks fine in spring, but many of the leaves become disfigured, turn brown and fall prematurely by summer. Other sycamore trees in our neighborhood do the same thing, too.

A few times each autumn, Elizabeth Schwartz gathers the fallen foliage from her neighbor’s Western sycamore in West L.A. and remembers its seasonal gifts: the joy of stomping on huge palmate leaves, ...