Plant Type

Shrub

 

Height Range

6-12'

 

Flower Color

Yellow

 

Flower Season

Spring

 

Leaf Color

Green

 

Bark Color

Brown, Grey

 

Fruit Color

Red

 

Fruit Season

Fall, Persistent

Sun

Full, Half

 

Water

Very Low, Low, Medium

 

Growth Rate

Moderate

 

Soil Type

Sandy, Clay, Loam, Rocky, Unparticular

 

Soil Condition

Average, Rich, Poor, Well-drained, Dry

 

Soil pH

Acid, Neutral, Basic

 

Adverse Factors

Invasive

Design Styles

Meadow, Ranch, Woodland

 

Accenting Features

Fall Color, Multi-trunk Tree, Silhouette

 

Seasonal Interest

Winter, Summer, Fall

 

Location Uses

Background, Foundation, Walls / Fences

 

Special Uses

Erosion Control, Hedge, Screen, Mass Planting, Naturalizing

 

Attracts Wildlife

Birds, Butterflies

Smooth sumac is a deciduous shrub with an open, irregular, spreading habit, typically growing 8 to 15 feet tall and wide (or wider). It spreads by root suckers to form thickets or large colonies. Very similar to staghorn sumac (R. typhina), except the young stems of staghorn are densely hairy whereas those of this species are smooth, hence the common name. Large, compound pinnate, shiny, dark green leaves grow with a long, fern-like appearance and turn attractive shades of bright orange to red in autumn. Tiny, yellowish-green flowers bloom in terminal panicles (5 to 10 inches long) in late spring to early summer, with separate male and female flowers appearing on separate plants. Female plants produce showy, erect, pyramidal fruiting clusters (to 8 inches long). Each cluster contains numerous hairy, berry-like drupes which ripen red in autumn, gradually turning maroon-brown as they persist through most of the winter. Fruit is attractive to wildlife. Mores a stricking architectural statement in the landscape.

Grow in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Tolerant of wide range of soils except those that are poorly drained. All sumac are suckering by nature, and eventually it will spread; place accordinly.