Buttonbush vs Smooth Sumac - TreeTime.ca

Buttonbush vs Smooth Sumac

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Rhus glabra

CUSTOM GROW

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Buttonbush
Smooth Sumac

Buttonbush is a moisture loving shrub that provides year round interest.

It has round, fragrant flowers resembling small buttons or pincushions. The flowers transform into small reddish-brown fruit that persists into winter while the leaves take on shades of red in fall.

Providing essential food to bees, butterflies, and other insects, this shrub is versatile. Try it in your next shrub border.

Smooth Sumac is an excellent shrub for both its ornamental appeal and tolerance of difficult planting sites. You'll love the attractive pyramidal spikes of hairy, red berries that emerge on female plants and the fern-like foliage that covers both male and female varieties.

Ensure you give Smooth Sumac enough space to spread out due to its high suckering nature. While not ideal for small, urban yards, this shrub will make a stunning border along a woodland edge or roadside.

Note:These plants typically reach maturity and make their sex easily known (females producing fruit) in their 3rd or 4th year of growth. Our seedlings are too young to identify their sex.

Buttonbush Quick Facts

Smooth Sumac Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 3a
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Light: any
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: long
Life span: medium
Suckering: low
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: long, thin
Fall colour: scarlet red
Flowers: large, white, spherical
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON, QC, NS, NB
Native to: BC, SK, MB, ON