Rhus Tiger Eyes® Sumac

Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit

A First Editions® variety, Rhus Tiger Eyes® is a dwarf deciduous shrub offering 3 seasons of interest. Highly ornamental, the shrub is grown for its lovely form of upwardly angled branches dripping with lacy leaflets borne on rosy-pink stems. New growth emerges chartreuse green, quickly changes to yellow for summer, and eventually takes on brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and scarlet for autumn.

A Rhus typhina, commonly called sumac or staghorn sumac, Tiger Eyes has a compact, upright, rounded habit and a rapid growth rate. It spreads by suckering and will form colonies over time if allowed; however, Tiger Eyes is less suckering than other sumac varieties. It adapts well to urban environments and is a popular specimen, accent, mixed bed, and hedging plant. It is especially effective planted in drifts in natural settings.

Tough and easy to grow, sumac grows best in sunny locations with average, medium moist, well-draining soil, but it tolerates a wide range of soils, including poorly drained and very dry soils. It is rabbit resistant and generally pest and disease free. Every few years, the plant can be rejuvenated by cutting it to the ground mid-winter.