# Michaux's Sumac (Rhus michauxii)

> A rare, low sumac of sandy and rocky open woods in North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia, densely hairy all over, with red fruit on female plants.

Also called false poison sumac, dwarf sumac. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/michaux-sumac/

![Michaux's sumac (Rhus michauxii) low plant with toothed compound leaves and a flower cluster in open woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/michaux-sumac-h1610-800.jpg)
*Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARhus_michauxii.jpg)*

## Facts

- Type: Shrub
- Mature height: 1 to 3 ft
- USDA hardiness zones: 7 to 8
- Grows wild in: Sandy barrens, rocky ground and dry uplands
- Native range: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia
- Sun: Full
- Soil moisture: Average, Dry
- Growth rate: Medium
- Traits: Rare
- Sold as: Saplings, Seed

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

## Availability

Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed.

## Notes

Michaux's sumac is a low, densely hairy sumac, 1 to 3 feet tall, of sandy and rocky open woods in North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia. It spreads by shallow underground stems into patches that are often all male or all female, so many wild patches never set seed. It needs sun, and fire or mowing to keep taller plants off. It is listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. North Carolina and Georgia list it as endangered, and Virginia as threatened. Give it a sunny, sandy or rocky spot that is mowed or cleared now and then.

## 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.

## Sources

- [NatureServe Explorer: Rhus michauxii](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.148771/Rhus_michauxii)
- [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Michaux's Sumac (Rhus michauxii) 5-Year Status Review, 2026](https://ecosphere-documents-production-public.s3.amazonaws.com/sams/public_docs/species_nonpublish/42120.pdf)
- [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Michaux's Sumac Recovery Plan, 1993](https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/930430.pdf)
- [Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Biodiversity Portal: Rhus michauxii species account](https://georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=18319)
- [North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, rare plant account](https://herbarium.ncsu.edu/rare/images/Rhus_michauxii_NHP.pdf)
- [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Rhus chapter](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Rhus.pdf)
- [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ECOS species report](https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/5217)

## Read before planting

- [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md)
- [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md)
- [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md)
- [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md)
- [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md)
- [Native trees and shrubs for butterflies and moths: host plants first, nectar second](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-butterflies-and-moths/index.html.md)

## Related

- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Michaux's Sumac, add ?species=michaux-sumac with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=michaux-sumac&zone=7&sun=part&moisture=average.
- [Companion species for Michaux's Sumac](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=michaux-sumac): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard.
- [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=michaux-sumac
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Michaux's Sumac is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=michaux-sumac
- [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Michaux's Sumac needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=michaux-sumac:3
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Michaux's Sumac flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.