Sumac's (Rhus) can give the landscape year round interest as they have beautiful shiny foliage, brilliant fall colour and interesting looking berries that hang on through the winter if the birds don't eat them first.
The leaves are a compound leaf meaning that each leaf is made up of a main stem with pairs of several leaflets that are opposite of each other, much like a fern. The leaflets themselves have a serrated edge and hang down from the centre stem. During the summer the foliage is green but in the fall the foliage takes on colours of yellow, orange and red. Sumacs also produce flowers and these can be seen now. The flowers are made up of clusters of tiny flowers that rise above the foliage and will later mature into berries on most varieties. The red berries grow in dense clusters and are also unusual as they are velvety with tiny hairs that surround them.
There are a few varieties available in the garden centres, including the 'Tiger Eyes Cutleaf Staghorn'. The new foliage on Tiger Eye is a chartreuse green that turns yellow, with both colours being on the plant at the same time. If that wasn't colourful enough the stems are a rosy pink. In the fall the foliage changes to a scarlet red. It grows 2m tall and wide. 'Cutleaf Smooth Sumac' has green foliage during the summer that turns to bright red in the fall. The stems are smooth which is where the name comes from. 'Staghorn Sumac' has thick velvety stems that resemble a "stag's horn" and these are very noticeable in the winter when all the leaves have fallen off. This deciduous shrub is native to North America and is able to grow in a variety of conditions. They are able to grow in many soils, even poor soils, are drought tolerant, and their shallow spreading root system is good for soil conservation. They grow best in a well drained soil in full sun to partial shade. Sumac's are rarely bothered by pests or disease. They can grow quite quickly once they have become established, as they spread by suckers, so give them their space. Plant them in groups, use them as a hedge, or place them on a slope to prevent soil erosion.There is very little maintenance involved in looking after a sumac. Prune them in the spring before they break into leaf and that is all they need. The suckers can be pruned back to keep the shape and keep it neat looking.
We have had two Sumacs growing in our landscape at home for the past 2-3 years, and they have been doing very well. They are in an area that does not get a lot of attention or water and are in full bloom right now.
Sumacs are the perfect shrub to plant where other shrubs will not grow. It is hard to believe that a shrub that is this tough is also so beautiful. This unique looking shrub adds texture, colour and beauty to any landscape.
