Northern Gooseberry vs Smooth Sumac - TreeTime.ca

Northern Gooseberry vs Smooth Sumac

Ribes oxyacanthoides

Rhus glabra

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Northern Gooseberry
Smooth Sumac

Northern Gooseberry is a small, ornamental quality native shrub with prickly stems. You can plant it anywhere you'd plant Prickly Rose or Common Wild Rose, such as your yard.

Most people find Northern Gooseberry berries a bit tart for significant fresh eating but they are good for baking, wine or jam.

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.

Northern Gooseberry Quick Facts

Smooth Sumac Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Light: any
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Suckering: none
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: long, thin
Fall colour: scarlet red
Berries: purple or purplish black
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NL, YT, NT
Native to: BC, SK, MB, ON
Other Names: canada gooseberry, canadian gooseberry