Quackin Grass Nursery

Rhus typhina ‘Dissecta’ – ​This cut leaf form of Staghorn Sumac is ferny and soft. Each large uniform compound pinnate leaflet is deeply divided and upon close inspection intricately beautiful. The foliage changes through autumn days from golden orange to orange sometimes with an infusion of red before dropping. A female form, it produces red candles which adorn terminal tips of stems well into winter providing food for various bird species. They stand strong with fall and winter interest. The terminal branches are reminiscent of the racks of male deer, hence, the appropriate common name, Staghorn Sumac. Each tip is a fat finger covered in felted pubescence, studded with the large warty lenticels. Late spring/early summer 4” to 8” panicles are greenish yellow, showy and flame-shaped.

I wrote this in 2005, “Upon viewing the magnificent old stand of one of the forms of cut-leaf sumac in the garden sloping away from the gazebo at Wavehill in the Bronx, many stroll from the experience enlightened. It is an all-season wonder. The dark gray stems erupt from the ground, shoot up, arching in many instances to heights several feet above our heads, then descend to the ground yards away from the originating trunks. Each of the stems then curves up branching into the wood that produces the foliage heads. The apex of the woody arc is many feet higher than the grand tufts of foliage. This amazing architecture is unique and striking in all four seasons. The bare bones in winter become the tentacles of a mythical giant sea serpent or, perhaps, a wild-looking roller coaster for the pixies when humans are not in sight! In any case the effect is fantastical, magical.” We had thought our plant was Rhus typhina var. laciniata but believe, due to an article by Allen J. Coombes, that our Staghorn Sumac selection is actually ‘Dissecta’. In either case it’s a beautiful thing! Staghorn Sumac is a colonizer. At the northern end of the range it might be better to plant in spring... we're on the fence about this. Your choice. Your responsibility. Established potted starter Staghorn Sumac via division.