Q. I have two similar
African Sumac trees. One faces north the other south. Both are about the same age, watered and
fertilized the same. The south tree almost continually puts out ground shoots
while the north tree seldom does. Any ideas why?
A. Put African sumac trees
in the same category as mulberry and many of our ash trees regarding their
sexuality. African sumac has separate male flowers and female flowers and they
grow on separate trees. This means that some trees are male, and some trees are
female. The female trees are the problem.
Female trees produce seed. Seed drops to the ground and
germinates easily everywhere. They also produce suckers so they can sucker from
the soil as well as spread their seeds. Birds like to eat these seeds so they
help in dispersing them.
African sumac is regarded as invasive in several states. In the desert, it can be invasive along natural waterways because the seed germinates easily. Nice-looking tree but I don’t care for it for these reasons.
Would of African sumac is not terribly hard and can split under a snow load when the leaves are present. They can also be quite messy. |
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