Gro-Low Fragrant Sumac

Light Needs

Partial Shade to Full Sun

(At Least 3 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

1-2 Feet

Mature Spread

5-6 Feet

Growing Zones

4 to 8

Gro-Low Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica ‘Gro-Low’) is a fast-growing plant that can tolerate almost any growing condition. Rapid growth is a huge bonus in a groundcover, because it means you can more quickly suppress weeds and add a pretty green color to a landscape. With its fragrant yellow flowers followed by red fruit, this is a stunning groundcover, especially near outdoor living spaces or walking paths. Use the fragrant low shrub to cut down on weeds, control erosion on banks, or cover soil that can’t support other plants.

Birds flock to the berries, but deer leave the sumac alone. What’s more, you get color in most seasons–yellow spring flowers, red summer fruit, and fall foliage in shades of red, yellow, and orange. Once established, sumac is drought tolerant and will colonize along the ground to form thickets of growth, even in the poorest soils. It grows to only about 1 or 2 feet high, but spreads to 5 or 6 feet across. And it’s hardy in zones 4 through 8.

Gro-Low Fragrant Sumac Care

This low-growing sumac thrives in sunny or partly sunny spots, so be sure it gets 4 to 6 hours of light per day. Choose any soil type and don’t worry about amending the soil before planting. It can root in dry and poor soils, as long as they drain well. 

Care is simple. Avoid overwatering your sumac, but make sure it gets adequate water in its first year of life to root well. After the first season or two, it can tolerate periods of drought well. There is no need to fertilize the plant. Just remove dead or damaged branches in late winter.  

Gro-Low Fragrant Sumac Spacing

Since your sumac will grow outward and form a thicket, avoid planting several too close together. Place them about 5 feet apart, and they eventually will meet to create a groundcover.

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1231001361-pc