Q. My African sumac tree strips
itself into a skeleton about the time it gets hot. It drops its leaves. This
summer I tried to water earlier and it didn’t get as awful looking. But it is a
real mess when it drops leaves.
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| Yellowing leaves of African sumac just before leaf drop |
A. African sumac is not “dry
deciduous”, which is true of plants such as the Australian bottle tree. But
African sumac will drop its leaves if it does not get enough water. Either
increase the frequency and amount of water during the summer months or put down
a layer of water conserving mulch so the soil stays wetter when it's hot. This
should help reduce leaf drop.African sumac is a "messy" tree in the landscape.
Very helpful. Thank you. Our African Sumac Tree drops yellow leaves all summer long and makes our yard a big mess. Knowing this I would never recommend a sumac tree to anyone in Las Vegas area.
ReplyDeleteI know this is an old comment, but it's so true! A lot of the recommended trees for Vegas are messy and placed too close to walls, sidewalks and pools.
DeleteMy large 15 year old African Suman tree dropped 1/2 of its leaves (brown) this summer in Phoenix - very hot days and no rain at all. The only cure was deep watering every evening and morning for 2 weeks - Now I have lots of new green leaves forming on the lower branches. The top branches are almost bare. Many sites say do not overwater but what mine needed was water. Read many recommendations and lots say these trees do not need watering - not in Phoenix!!
ReplyDeleteI would be careful of making broad generalizations about plants particularly those started from seed. How do you know the new leaves would have happened with or without your extra irrigations? After leaf drop new leaf production is very common.
DeleteLeaf litter is a common complaint about African sumac. The amount of leaf drop depends on alot of things including the parents of the tree, soil moisture/irrigation. African sumac is just a "dirty tree" from its seeds, leaf drop, invasiveness in irrigated areas. Some people love them and other people hate them. If you are a "neat freak" you will probably not like them.
ReplyDelete