Evergreen Sumac

Year-round

Evergreen sumac is a tough, low-water shrub that needs very little regular care once it settles into a Dallas-area garden.

• Give it full sun to light shade and let the soil dry out between waterings. It is highly drought tolerant once established, generally after the first year in the ground.
• Skip rich garden soil. This shrub prefers lean, well drained ground, and handles rocky, caliche, or clay loam soils common around Dallas.
• Do not overwater in hot weather. Wet soil during summer heat can cause leggy growth or fungal problems, so water deeply but infrequently rather than on a daily schedule.
• Prune lightly to shape it or to keep it in bounds as a hedge or screen. It tolerates cutting back and regrows quickly, generally with moderate to fast growth.
• Leaves drop and regrow within about a week each year even though the plant is called evergreen, so a brief bare period is normal and not a sign of a problem.

Kept pruned as a rounded hedge or screen, evergreen sumac stays tidy and reads as HOA-friendly for foundation plantings or property line screens.

Fall

Fall brings evergreen sumac's red berry clusters and, after the first frost, a maroon tinge to the foliage before the yearly leaf drop.

• Dallas's average first fall frost lands in early to mid November, and cold weather afterward often turns the foliage maroon before it drops and regrows within about a week.
• Only female plants set the red, fuzzy berry clusters, which mature around mid September and are a food source for birds and small mammals into the cooler months.
• Fall is a reasonable time for light shaping pruning, once the worst of summer heat has passed and before the shrub settles into winter dormancy.
• Fall planting is also a reasonable option in the Dallas area, since soil is still warm from summer but the harshest heat stress is over.

The red fall berry clusters and neat, rounded shape read as an HOA-friendly seasonal accent along a fence line or foundation bed.

Winter

Dallas winters usually stay mild enough, in USDA hardiness zone 8a to 8b, for evergreen sumac to keep most of its leaves until a quick, normal drop and regrowth cycle.

• Dallas falls in roughly USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 8a to 8b, with average annual lows in the 10 to 20 degree Fahrenheit range, which this shrub tolerates well once established.
• Despite the common name, it is not a true evergreen. Expect the leaves to drop for about a week sometime in winter before a fresh flush comes in, which is a normal cycle.
• Hold off on major pruning until late winter as dormancy is ending, closer to the spring flush, rather than right after an early cold snap.
• Avoid fertilizing in winter. Established plants in the Dallas area rarely need supplemental feeding through the cold months.

Spring

Spring is when evergreen sumac pushes new pink tinged growth, and it is a good window to plant or lightly shape before summer heat sets in.

• Dallas's average last spring frost falls in the February to March range depending on the year, so wait until that window has passed before doing any hard pruning or major shaping.
• New leaf growth often shows a pink tinge in spring before turning green, which is a normal seasonal color change for this plant, not a sign of stress.
• Spring is a reasonable time to plant new evergreen sumac from containers, while soil is still cool and rainfall is more regular than in summer.
• Hold off on fertilizer. This shrub is adapted to lean native soils and rarely needs feeding, even during its spring growth flush.

Summer

Dallas summers run long, hot, and dry, and evergreen sumac wants infrequent deep watering rather than daily sprinkling once it is established.

• Water deeply but only when the soil is dry several inches down. Overwatering during Dallas's hot, humid summer stretch can cause leggy branches or fungal problems.
• This shrub is highly drought tolerant once established, so mature plants often need little to no supplemental water during a typical Dallas summer.
• In a plant's first summer after planting, water more consistently to help roots establish, since young plants have not built up the same drought tolerance yet.
• Flowering can continue into summer and draws bees, butterflies, and birds, so avoid spraying pesticides on the shrub while it is in bloom.