Photo of Rhus glabra landscape by Cistus Nursery

Photo by Cistus Nursery

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Buy Rhus glabra

Also Known As

  • Smooth Sumac

Plant type

tree, shrub, fruit / vegetable

size

  • H: 8'-20'
  • W: 8'-20'

planting zones

  • 3a-9b

2 to 3 feet tall - field grown - bare root | $22.39

Shipping flat rate $12

Fewer than 10 at Red Panda Nursery

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Rhus glabra plant details

Rhus glabra is a broadleaf deciduous fruit / vegetable, shrub or tree with green foliage. In spring and summer chartreuse, cream and white flowers emerge followed by red fruit. Grows well with sun - mostly sun and regular water. Does well in average and well-drained soil.

CHARACTERISTICS OF Rhus glabra

Plant type: fruit / vegetable, shrub or tree
Plant family: anacardiaceae
Foliage: deciduous green
Mature size: 8 FT - 20 FT - wide, 8 FT - 20 FT - tall
Flowers: chartreuse, cream and white blooms in spring and summer
Uses: border plant, edible, fall color, fragrant, native plant

GROWING CONDITIONS for Rhus glabra

USDA Zones: 3a - 9b
Sun exposure: sun - mostly sun
Watering frequency: regular
Soil needs: average and well-drained

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Nursery contributed plant descriptions

Smooth Sumac is an important winter food source for birds as the berries persist late into the winter when there is little else available, particularly when heavy snows bury ground-based food like insects and dropped seeds. Adding plants that produce winter berries to your landscape is one of the most important aspects to supporting birds through the winter as they rely on the calories and nutrition to maintain their body temperature during cold weather. Sumac trees are typically short in stature, up to about 15' tall but more commonly around 10' with large, tropical-looking leaves. They have a beautiful fall color and are an extremely low-maintenance landscape plant, thriving in most soil types and surviving extreme drought once established. Plants produce suckers to form clumps and should be given room to grow, they also establish quickly and will coppice readily making Smooth Sumac a good choice for a native chop-and-drop plant for soil building. Sumac has male and female plants, with berries being produced only by the female trees. Several individuals should be planted together to have a good chance of having both male and female plants trees growing together for pollination.
A first class plant, this interesting 10-15' U.S. native shrub has large, compound pinnate, tropical-looking leaves which turn a glowing bright-red in fall, ornate, yellow-green flowers in early summer become (on female plants) large showy clusters of reddish, hairy, berry-like fruits much enjoyed by wildlife; very adaptable, it will spread to hold soil and form a thicket; needs a male and female for fruit, ours are unsexed seedlings. S/M-D
Sumac is a dried berry that has a sour taste and a high vitamin C content. It’s used a lot in Mediterranean cuisine and throughout the Middle East as a garnish to give food a sour flavor. Sumac is delicious on everything from kebabs to cooked whole grains. Even though it’s used in other parts of the world, sumac grows wild throughout North America. In August through September, the berries appear like bright red cones on the lemon-scented leaves of this shrub. After you pick the berries, crush them lightly and use them fresh, or dry them and store in an airtight container.

Gardening facts about Rhus glabra plant

How to Grow Rhus glabra

  • Sun Exposure

    • sun - mostly sun
  • Water Needs

    • regular
  • Soil Needs

    • average
    • well-drained

Features

  • Foliage Color

    • green
  • Flower Color

    • white
    • cream
    • chartreuse
  • Fruit

    • red
  • Flower Season

    • spring
    • summer
  • Foliage Season

    • deciduous
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