Our Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) is putting on quite a show now that we’ve had cool nights and bright, sunny days.
These plants get around twelve feet tall, and develop an interesting branch structure. They also have strange, fuzzy tapering knoblike flower heads in summer that give them a bold, architectural look.
Staghorn sumac is tough, resisting heat and cold. Real cold, not just California cold – we saw these growing in the Midwest.
The only drawback is that they tend to spread underground and may need a bit of control lest they form a thicket instead of a specimen small tree/large shrub.
This plant, for example. It’s growing really well, but it’s really a sucker that came off a potted plant that was later planted where it belongs. We’ve left it in place because it’s doing very well, but don’t know if we’re going to try pruning it for shape or moving it to a more suitable location where it doesn’t compete for center stage with a specimen cactus.