Mexican Sycamore Tree, 5–9 ft

The fastest honest shade in Texas. Four to six feet a year, silver-backed leaves the size of a dinner plate, and none of the anthracnose that turns an American sycamore into a skeleton by July. It is a better tree than the native American sycamore for Texas heat and alkaline soil, and we grow ours on the ranch rather than broker it in. Plant one in October and you are sitting under it in three summers.

What actually ships

• 3-Gallon: 5 to 7 ft tall, 1/2 to 1 in caliper, container-grown, single leader
• 7-Gallon: 7 to 9 ft tall, 1 to 1-1/2 in caliper, container-grown, staked
• Root form: Container-grown, root ball intact
• Shipped as: Upright in a corrugated carton, leader tied, soil bagged at the collar
• Honest note: This species defoliates in transit more than an oak does. Leaf drop in the box is normal and is not a dead tree. Scratch the bark, green means alive

Mature size

• Height: 50 to 70 ft
• Spread: 30 to 40 ft
• Growth rate: Very fast, 4 to 6 ft per year with summer water
• Leaf: Large maple-shaped leaf, dark green above, silver-felted underneath

Where it grows

• USDA zones: 8 to 10. Zone 7b is marginal, expect tip dieback in a hard freeze
• Texas planting window: October 15 to February 28. Ideal: November through December
• Native status: Not native to Texas. Platanus mexicana is native to northeastern and central Mexico. It is Texas-adapted, widely used in San Antonio and Austin, and it outperforms our native American sycamore on heat, alkaline soil and anthracnose. We call it what it is: an adapted tree, not a native one
• Soil: Tolerates alkaline soil far better than American sycamore. Wants depth and drainage
• Sun: Full sun
• Water: Moderate. Not a xeric tree. Deep-water weekly the first two summers

Texas care notes

• Spacing: 30 to 40 ft, and not within 20 ft of a foundation or a septic field
• First freeze: Protect the graft-free trunk of a first-year tree below 20F with a wrap
• Litter: It sheds big leaves and bark plates. Beautiful tree, messy tree. Do not plant it over a pool

Ship window and your cancellation right

Field-grown Texas stock ships during the dormant season. Orders ship between October 15 and December 15, 2026, oldest order first. That is deliberate: Texas Arbor Day is the first Friday in November (November 6, 2026) because fall is when a tree should go in the ground here.

If we cannot ship inside that window we will email you before it closes with a revised date and a one-click cancel link. If the new date is 30 days or less past the original, you can wait or cancel, your choice. If we need more than 30 days, your order is cancelled and refunded automatically unless you tell us to hold it. Refunds go back to your original card within 7 business days. This is the FTC Mail Order Rule (16 CFR Part 435) and we would rather you use it than be surprised.

The spec is the promise

Measure your tree against the "What actually ships" numbers above on the day it arrives. If it misses the spec, photograph it and we refund you in full and you keep the tree. We are not going to send you a stick and a photograph of somebody else's oak.

About this image: our product photography is an illustrative rendering of a mature, well-grown specimen of this species. It is not a photograph of the individual plant you will receive. The written "What actually ships" spec above is the binding description of your tree.