WWA Info Exchange

Staghorn Sumac.

Although a relative of poison sumac, the staghorn sumac, (Rhus vernix) isn't poisonous. In fact Native Americans and early frontier folk made a refreshing tea from its crimson berries (http://homeguides.sfgate.com/staghorn-s ... 36476.html). What's at issue is how easily one specimen tree can overwhelm an entire landscape. More importantly is how difficult it can be to get rid of.

It self propagates by root suckering. Roots can (and do, believe me) spread an unbelievable distance from the parent tree(s). Cutting the tree down only promotes yet more suckers. I anticipate a chemical assault lasting through the summer before I get rid of the danged thing!!

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Nullum Gratuitum Prandium

Cheers - Dennis

Yep. My wife convinced me to plant a hawthorne tree a few years ago - emphasis on the thorn part. This thing will take your head off mowing around it. If it were up to me, there wouldn't be anything in the 2 acres I have to mow except centipede grass.

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I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)

Though the current title goes to some fungus in Oregon (no doubt from California), a single tree, given the opportunity, can occupy a lot of land. http://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/201 ... -organism/

Dennis, I've found a new "kill everything it touches" home-made brew. 1/2 gallon of vinegar, 1/4 cup table salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of Dawn liquid dish soap. Mix the above ingredients in a spray bottle. Spray the plants thoroughly. The dish soap helps to keep the solution "stick" to the plant while the vinegar and salt does the hard work.

It's best to spray this on a warm/hot day. Be careful, because it does kill everything it touches, including grass. The warmer it is, the quicker it works.

I love my trumpet vines, but it takes over, just like your sumac. I've sprayed in on some new sprouts of trumpet vines, and they're gone. I'll find out this week (if it doesn't rain all week) how it works on freshly cut twigs of woody growth along the fence row.

It's worth a try. It doesn't cost much.

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Verna
Indianapolis, IN