Ken - You're right in that I'm concerned about the food, maybe a bit too focused. They don't just eat fruit, seeds, etc., but also insects, which come with plants in general. tete - The trunks are thin and my understanding is the Nyssa Sylvatica will grow a deep taproot. I believe the problem, if root bound, can be handled when planting and some TLC the first year. No no worries about black spot on the species in humid climates? I guess it is more of an asthetic thing any way. There doesn't seem to be much concern about the pollination distance, so that's nice to hear. I understand a female will have atleast some fruit regardless. Just trying to maximize, if it is going to be there, it would be nice to have fruit. Man oh man, those things have some fantastic fall color!

I have both Ns and Nb on my place. The Nb grows in the wet areas along the creek and the Ns grows on drier upland areas. I've never paid attention to bloom time, but they both produce fruit regularly. Beside the blossom, the only difference I can see between the two is Nb has more horizontal branching and Ns is more oval-upright. They both leaf out the same time and color deep red the same time in fall. I don't think I've seen any that I thought were intermediate, but I really haven't looked.

Sara - good question on the pollen vs nectar. At least one website I found refers specifically to the male flowers as being the most important for honey production (in this case on Nyssa ogeche ): https://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/nyssa/ogeche.htm "The male flowers, in particular, produce an abundance of nectar"

where are you ... can we see the whole thing ken