I have a fu fu version of Sumac, Tiger Eyes. Now in their second summer in the ground I've had 3 suckers sprout from one. Thin surface roots seem to be their method of spreading.

I ASSUME the main species will sucker more aggressively.

one mans sucker.. is the next mans nightmare .... woman too!!! .. lol ... or is it.. there is a sucker born every minute.. p t barnum and all ....

pots will need holes in the bottom for drainage.. and aggressive plants will grow right out those holes.. across your yard.. and probably back across the street to the nimrod who is offering you an invasive plant ... see link below ...

been there.. done that.. thought i could beat it.. lived to regret it ...

trust me.. in the long run.. it wont be free .. a bunch of backbreaking labor to remove.. what you should have never planted ....

i would pass.. if i were you ...

ken

ps: you can always take one.. and somehow allow it to die over the winter.. if you want to make them feel good .... been there.. done that too ... lol

Here is a link that might be useful: lilnk

If you have a large area - say, 50' x 50' - go for it. If not, pass.

Dan

I got a sucker Tiger Eyes Sumac from a friend. She informed me that it produces suckers. Hers has produced like 3-4 suckers in 6 years. It's is gorgeous!

I planted mine around mid October 2009. It was bare root. We dug it incorrectly that's why all the dirt came off. Glad it made it. Mine is in front of the house and gets morning sun only. The foliage is phenomenal.

I am not sure how the tiger eyes compare to the regular sumacs. The green leafed sumacs I have seen in railroads everyday are like 10 miles long. :D

Thanks all. This is a regular version (not the Tiger Eyes). They said I could take some if I wanted it. I think I'm gonna pass on this. I think they're nice-looking plants...interesting winter silhouette, but not worth the trouble, it seems.

I wouldn't go for it if I had a confined area next to neighboring yards... only if I had a BIG yard with plenty of space so that the chance of it bothering others is limited.

"...and probably back across the street to the nimrod who is offering you an invasive plant..."

Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac) is not an invasive plant in Oregon, and is in fact a native to a good part of eastern North America. It's fairly adaptable to different soil types, relatively disease and pest resistant, and has nice fall color. It's probably not a great choice for small areas, but I really like mine!

Most "invasive" plants are simply those which are good at colonizing disturbed sites, which describes most urban and suburban areas. That is, after all, their niche in nature. As a site matures into forest, the invasives generally disappear as they can't take the low sunlight or competition of a mature forest.

"Most "invasive" plants are simply those which are good at colonizing disturbed sites, which describes most urban and suburban areas. That is, after all, their niche in nature. As a site matures into forest, the invasives generally disappear as they can't take the low sunlight or competition of a mature forest."

Depends on your definition of invasive, but that statement actually somewhat contradicts the scientific definitions we are usually referring to here on Gardenweb. Here is one simplistic example of a definition I like:

Invasive plant - an exotic plant that invades and displaces natives in functioning natural ecosystems.

So, it's usually the invasives that are displacing the natives, not the other way around. That's why we call them invasive.

Well, no one told that to the folks in Wisconsin, apparently, since they are obviously going by the definition I used ;)

I was just reading some where that fertilizing them encourages suckering..So no fertilizer.

As others have said, it's native (so by definition not an invasive) and geared to fill a particular ecological nitch of colonizing cleared sunny areas. It can be controlled if one can mow a wide swath of perhaps 50' around it, but I wouldn't want to grow it in a suburban yard. And since it is common along untended roadsides here and we grow a large patch that is untended other than mowing around it, I can assure you that it grows well and suckers enthusiastically regardless of whether it is fertilized.

What about grow the staghorn sumac in a self watering/reservoir big corrugated planter box,??