Michaux's Sumac

Size, growth and what to expect

No source rates its growth, so our growth estimator treats it as a medium grower, like our fragrant sumac, about a foot and a half a year. It is a low shrub whose erect stems, 1 to 3 feet tall, rise from shallow underground stems. Every part of it is densely hairy, and young shoots are tinged red.

Dense, upright clusters of small greenish-yellow to white flowers open at the stem tips from April into August, male and female on separate plants. On female plants, dense clusters of hairy red fruit about a quarter inch across ripen from August to October. The fruit can hang on for several months. Each leaf carries 9 to 13 toothed leaflets, 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches long.

It grows in sandy and rocky open woods, loamy swales in the Sandhills and on ridges and river bluffs. Many of its colonies now grow on mowed roadsides, power line clearings and fire-managed military land. About 47 populations survive in North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.

How to grow Michaux's Sumac

Michaux's sumac needs full sun and a well-drained sandy, loamy or rocky soil, acid to near neutral. It will not stand shade, so mow or clear taller plants around it in winter, after the fruit. Its underground stems can run 20 feet, so give it room to spread. Set plants 3 feet apart, and keep each one 2 feet from a wall. It is small enough to grow within 15 feet of overhead wires.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the stems. The seed has a thick, hard coat. Nick each seed with a file and soak it overnight, then sow it half an inch deep in spring. Seed from wild patches is often empty or sterile, and gardens raise it mostly from pieces of the underground stems.

Plant early and water through the first summer, since late planting and drought have held back many plantings. It crosses with smooth and winged sumacs, so keep those away from plants grown for seed.

Most plants are male or female, and only females bear the red fruit, so plant three or more seedlings for a male and a female. A patch grown from one plant's underground stems is all male or all female. Bees visit the flowers, but in one study they carried little pollen between patches. Powdery mildew can kill the tops of garden plants, but they sprout again from below. Despite its old name, false poison sumac, it is harmless to touch. Saplings and seed are shipped only in state and otherwise pickup only.