Smooth Sumac vs Flowering Raspberry - TreeTime.ca

Smooth Sumac vs Flowering Raspberry

Rubus odoratus

Rhus glabra

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Flowering Raspberry
Smooth Sumac

The Flowering Raspberry is an ornamental shrubby plant that blooms with fragrant light purple flowers throughout the summer and has a large, decorative foliage of bright green leaves. The flowers resemble that of a wildrose, and the foliage turns a bright yellow in the fall. This cultivar produces small red raspberries, similar to that of a thimbleberry, but the fruit is mostly tasteless.

The Flowering Raspberry, also known as Virginia Raspberry or Purple-Flowered Raspberry, makes a great hedge plant and is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard.

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.

Flowering Raspberry Quick Facts

Smooth Sumac Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Light: any
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Suckering: high
Suckering: high
Maintenance: high
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: long, thin
Fall colour: scarlet red
Bark: thornless orange
Flowers: purple
Berries: red to purple, seedy
Firmness: firm
Flavor: tasteless
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON, QC, NS
Native to: BC, SK, MB, ON
Other Names: purple-flowered raspberry, virginia raspberry