Plant Type

Tree, Shrub

 

Height Range

12-25'

 

Flower Color

Yellow

 

Flower Season

Summer

 

Leaf Color

Green

 

Bark Color

Brown, Grey

 

Fruit Color

Red

 

Fruit Season

Winter, Fall, Persistent

Sun

Full, Half, Shade

 

Water

Low

 

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

Ranch, Spanish, Woodland

 

Accenting Features

Fall Color, Multi-trunk Tree, Showy Flowers, Silhouette

 

Seasonal Interest

Winter, Summer, Fall

 

Location Uses

Background, Shrub Border, Parking Lot, Raised Planter, Walls / Fences

 

Special Uses

Erosion Control, Screen, Mass Planting, Fire Resistant, Naturalizing

 

Attracts Wildlife

Birds

Staghorn sumac is an open, spreading shrub or small tree that typically grows 15 to 25 feet tall, and though individual plants are narrow, colonies can spread 20 to 30 feet wide. It is particularly noted for the reddish-brown hairs that cover the young branchlets in somewhat the same way that velvet covers the horns of a stag, hence the common name. It is also noted for its ornamental fruiting clusters and excellent fall foliage color. Large, compound, odd-pinnate leaves (each to 24 inches long) are bright green above during the growing season and glaucous beneath. Leaves turn attractive shades of yellow/orange/red in autumn. Each leaf has 13-27 toothed, lanceolate-oblong leaflets (each to 2 to 5 inches long). Tiny, greenish-yellow flowers bloom in terminal cone-shaped panicles in summer (June-July), with male and female flower cones primarily occurring on separate plants (dioecious). Female flowers produce showy pyramidal fruiting clusters (to 8 inches long), with each cluster containing numerous hairy, berry-like drupes which ripen bright red in autumn, gradually turning dark red as they persist through much of the winter. Fruit is attractive to wildlife. Wood is a warm grey to soft brown and is smooth. Use in naturally-styled landscapes, and where it has room to spread.

Grow in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Tolerant of a wide range of soils except for those that are poorly drained. Generally tolerant of urban conditions. Tolerates shallow, rocky soils. Drought tolerant. This is a suckering shrub that will form thickets via self-seeding and root suckering; plan accordingly.