Rhus typhina may also be known by it's common name of Stag's Horn Sumac. The one in our garden is turning the most exotic shade of yellow and orange. Whenever I look out of the back window it glows through the the bare branches of other trees and shrubs.
This is one of P's favourite shrubs and was planted at his request. A friend of ours was horrified that we had planted a Rhus Typhina. Didn't we know it suckered from one end of the garden to the other? An opportunity for new plants I assured her, quietly imagining Rhus taking over the garden.....We would rue the day that we planted it, was her last word on the subject.
Certainly it was a small spindly speciman when we planted it and has come on in leaps and bounds.... It is also suckering here and there but nothing that can't be handled... and it does have this glorious autumn colour.
It is now the size of a large shrub. The leaves are finely-cut and dark green throughout the summer. If you have a female plant they produce dark red fruits which provide a contrast with the fiery orange of the leaves. We have had neither flowers nor fruit so far.
Utterly gorgeous, utterly jealous.
ReplyDeleteIm off to your chums garden the morn, if this wind dies down......
Gorgeous pictures
Indeed a glorious colour!
ReplyDeleteThe leaves are such a stunning colour, worth the risk of suckering I think; beautifully photographed too. Christina
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunner! Another one to add to my list..
ReplyDeleteMy Dad was a big fan of this shrub we called it the 'mouse tree' because of the furry stems. Ours suckered all over the lawn but Dad just mowed them down. I have never seen one for sale in garden centres I don't think they have really been in fashion for a good 30 years, perhaps they will make a come-back.They certainly prove their worth during autumn.
ReplyDeleteThat is so gorgeous - I'm a big fan of Rhus too, and I was also advised never to plant one because of the suckers. I think I might try putting one in a big pot in my next garden!
ReplyDeleteYes...definitely worth the risk!
ReplyDeleteI just love seeing these shrubs. They grow throughout the woods here, and in fall they are spectacular.
ReplyDeleteThere is a variety, R. typhina lacinata which has finely dissected leaves, giving it an appearance similar to Melianthus major, but with blazing fall color. Quite worth having and may even convince doubters like your friend to overcome their Rhus prejudices.
ReplyDeleteStunning colour, stunning photos, well worth planting if you can control the suckers or if you have space to let it do its own thing, now I have a bank in the woodland, maybe that is what I need to create some interest there.
ReplyDeleteWe have Sumac varieties here in Texas and for years I have taken them for granted. It has been my goal this year to get some in the loft garden. (as soon as I fix the nasty soil in the next area...) They are beautiful in the fall but a great texture in the summer.
ReplyDeleteReally stunning autumn colours. It's one of those plants you don't really notice for most of the year and then all of a sudden it takes centre stage.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first moved here our neighbour had a Sumac in his garden next to our fence. It seemed to do all its suckering on our side. Perhaps I would be more tolerant nowadays but I don't think it is a tree that mixes well with ones treasured perennials.
ReplyDeleteI do like the leaf colour though :-)
In western New York and Vermont I'd see thickets of it on the edges of woods, though they turned more scarlet than that lovely mix of colors yours has. Farmers would leave thickets of them in untilled areas, too--gorgeous against cornfields this time of year. Yours looks perfectly at home in that spot!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments. The Rhus was doing a "see me" and just begging to be photographed.
ReplyDeleteElaine I love the idea of it as a "mouse tree". The stems are hairy and soft.
HolleyGarden, Maybe you could post a photo of the rhus in your woods in full colour.
Susan, I will file away Rhus Typhina lacinata" for future reference.
The Rhus seems to be as famouse for it's colours as it does for it's suckering habit. I may have to get a pot or put a barrier round it if it becomes too annoying.
I think a whole thicket of them in the wild must look fabulous at this time of year.
Electric colours! There are two Rhus trees near my office building which blazed similarly for a few weeks. Now the leaves have dropped, though the dark red clusters of fruit are still standing tall along the branches. They catch my eye every autumn with their display.
ReplyDeleteOne of my fav native small trees for the brilliant fall color along woods' edge.
ReplyDeleteHillwards. I am hoping for flowers and fruit next year with a bit of luck.
ReplyDeleteNellJean The Rhus seems like a real exotic over here. How lovely to have it as a native.
aloha,
ReplyDeletethese colors are beautiful, love the leaves
That colour is so beautiful Janet! I laughed out loud at “quietly imagining Rhus taking over the garden”, fantastic!
ReplyDelete