Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

The winter is a good time to transplant your Rhus virens (Evergreen sumac). Plant it at the same depth that it was growing previously.

Evergreen sumac is a shrub or small tree, from 8-12 ft. in height with spreading branches. Its shiny, evergreen, pinnate foliage is tinged with pink in early spring and maroon after frost. Leaves are alternate, 2–5 1/2 inches long, with 5–9 fleshy leaflets on stiff stems. The 5-petaled, inconspicuous, greenish or white flowers grow in clusters 1–2 inches long at the end of stout branches. When the fruit matures in mid-September it is red, broader than long, and covered with fine hair.

Evergreen sumac can be used to make a nice, thick hedge or screen, but can grow tree-like with a long, straight trunk. Only female plants produce flowers and berries. It is fast growing, generally insect and disease-free, and drought-tolerant. Not a true evergreen – leaves are green through the winter, then are dropped, to be replaced within a week with a new crop.

Pam Penick has a good article on Evergreen Sumas on her Digging/Plant This website and says: Evergreen sumac is native to dry hillsides, so be sure it has good drainage. Rocky soil? No problem. Heavy, clay soil? Hmm. Try it where you have terracing or a slope so that water can drain away during our occasional flooding rains. Plant it throughout the winter, but do remember to water deeply every couple of weeks throughout that first summer to get it established.