The Sumac

[valley ranch]

It sprouting ~ I've added timed watering ~ I use to water it ~ when I though it needed ~ but I'm going to keep the ground damp beneath it ~ to see if does better ~ maybe even puts out shoots from the bottom ```

what you think baymule ```

 

[flowerbug]

is that the red kind? we had the other kind growing in the north hedge which was causing bad rashes for Mom if she didn't notice it so i took it out. the rabbits would eat the bark off the stems in some bad winter months. looks like you have it protected...

 

[Nyboy]

Can you kill a sumac ? I tried many times and failed

 

[flowerbug]

Can you kill a sumac ? I tried many times and failed

well it must be possible because i've done it here. we had a big clump of them in the north hedge, it was about 40ft long and 10-20ft deep in places, mostly shaded by other plants. i went in about once a month and cut everything to the ground. because they send out runners underground so far that can mean a pretty extensive network to keep after, but they did die off after a few years of doing that.

i check it once in a while now to be sure the poison ivy and sumac are not returning along with the large burr plants i want to keep from spreading...

the rabbits here helped out a few winters by chewing the bark off them. can't imagine how rabbits can chew something that gave us such bad reactions...

note this was not the nice red colored sumac you see growing along roadsides in places...

 

[Nyboy]

Had one try and grow in middle of lawn. Would mow it once a week when doing lawn still didn't kill.

 

[baymule]

I have sumac TREES! LOL I think your sumac is looking good, it sure has grown from the tiny twig you started out with. You need to show it some love. Spread some horse manure around it, water it regularly. They spread from roots, so maybe it will start to develop it's own forest.

It's too bad that I can't use it as a spice or a drink. It has a lemony taste and adds an interesting flavor to meat. My chemical sensitivities extend to some plants also. I have to watch curry ingredients, fenugreek breaks me out in itchy welts.

I wonder how old your sumac will have to be before it rewards you with red seeds. take care of it!

 

[Collector]

We had a sumac in the yard when I was a teenager. Used to put the sour seeds in our mouths , not sure why lol. Did not know they were hard to grow.

 

[valley ranch]

Not hard to grow ~ but ~ I've read : Water little or not at all ~ I now have it watered automatic and will feed it ...

Maybe this season with the different approach to food and water ~ I should have known ~ there are different rules on the high desert ```

Horses had eaten it down but it's come back ```

I love the taste of Sumac on Kebab ```

 

[Collector]

@valley ranch , is it the seeds you eat?

 

[baymule]

@valley ranch , is it the seeds you eat?

Here is a thread that explains what to do with sumac.

https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/she-got-me-a-sumac-start.17293/