Rhus aromatica
Growing Information
• Plant Type: Shrub
• Sunlight: Full Sun, Partial
• Soils: Medium to dry
• Bloom Time: June, July
• Size: 2-6 feet tall, spread 6-10 feet
Good fast growing ground cover for banks and slopes. Can be massed or used in wind breaks. It suckers and roots where stems touch the ground and forms a dense stand. The straight species is usually tall and leggy in a garden setting, but the cultivar ‘Gro-Low’ is useful as a landscape plant for ground cover and stays no higher than three feet. Like all sumacs, it is dioecious, and fruit will only appear on female plants.
Garden Companions
Sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina), Little Bluestem Grass (Schizachyrium scoparium), Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
Nature Benefits
• Flowers attract pollinators
• Berries provide food for many birds and mammals
• Provides wild bees nesting materials and structure for their life cycles
Native Habitat
Occurs in old fields, hardwood forest edges, and dry uplands.