Botanical name: Rhus glabra

Botanical name: Rhus glabra
Attributes: This shrub/small tree displays some of the finest, most consistent fall colors. Besides great fall color, female plants have showy, velvety dark red fruit all winter, fragrant flowers and dramatic, herringbone patterned foliage (a favorite of Frank Lloyd Wright). The undersides of the leaves are bluish and luminous in night lighting. This is the only woody plant found wild in all lower 48 states.
Bloom time: Smooth sumac blooms in late spring or early summer -- usually in mid-June.
Bloom color: Flowers are yellow-green and very fragrant. Each flower is tiny, but they are produced in conelike masses at the end of each stem. (Plants are either male or female -- female trees produce the ornamental fruit.)
Culture: Plant smooth sumac from containers anytime the soil is workable spring through fall. This is a very hardy and drought-resistant plant that only requires full- to half-day sun and well-drained soils. If a planting gets taller than desired, it can be cut to the ground and rejuvenated in a single season.
Landscaping tips: Smooth sumac naturally suckers to form thickets that are beautiful in mass along the edge of woods, a road or street side embankment or in erosion control areas. They can be kept single or multiple stem with mowing or annual removal of sucker sprouts, but are not recommended for perennial beds because the suckers will invade other plants. Good companion plants include other species of sumac, redbud, wild plum, ninebark, shrub dogwoods and red cedar or other evergreens.
Cost: Available in 3- to 5-gallon containers for about $20 to $35 each. Buy plants with fruit to ensure a female plant.
Source: Powell Gardens