By Stickitoffee
Worcestershire,
United Kingdom 
why might my sumac have yellow leaves?
i bought the stagshorn sumac [about 4'6" tall] approximately a month ago and planted in the garden; we then had a dry spell but it seemed quite happy. we have slightly acidic soil and a shady woodland garden
we came back from holiday last week to find that some of the lower leaves have turned yellow and are rather floppy
why would this be and is there anything i can do to make sure it will grow happily?
30 May, 2011
Answers
oh thats a lot more than its had ~ thank you ~ i was afraid that it didnt like my soil ~ it is quite free draining.
the bit i didnt understand was that i assumed it would all droop if it was dry?
thank you for your help, it has rained all day so that should help a bit but i will keep on watering.
i will be out with the hose this evening.
thank you again
30 May, 2011
New trees do need a lot of water in their first two years, specially if your soil is free draining - and the whole thing would have drooped eventually if left with no water. Also, you'd been away for a week and it was only planted a month ago, so that seems absolutely the most likely explanation. Remember what the rootball looked like when you planted it? Presumably at least 6 inches from top to bottom - it's got to rain some for the rain to penetrate down that far...
30 May, 2011
yes that would be right ~ it all makes sense ~ maybe 10 to 12 inches deep
30 May, 2011
Hi Sticki,
We have an ornamental sumac in the front yard, you can see it in my avatar, the bright lime green plant to the right of the door. It drops its leaves after it turns a brilliant shade of orange. It really drops the stems that the leaves grow on.
When we bought it the GC said you can prune it as hard as you like to keep it the size you want. So far I have been afraid to cut it back. This year it is going to get cut hard. In the past two years we have had runners from the base. Four or five last plants were given away to a friend who wanted a screen! SOME SCREEN.
This year he will get a few more, one for our neighbor who needs something to fill in a bare space between her and her neighbor. Not a problem after it gets cooler.
They are thirsty things as they get started, after the first year we had no problem with dry weather. When it is really hot I do toss a bucket of water on it every morning. Seems to enjoy a drink before it gets baking.
19 Jul, 2011
Thank you - mine is new this year, I know they do have suckers but I hope they won't fill the garden!
19 Jul, 2011
Warning regarding pruning of this plant - if you prune it hard, it tends to increase dramatically the number of suckers it puts out.
20 Jul, 2011
I've been watering it as you suggested bamboo and its looking much better thank you.
20 Jul, 2011
That's good - it must have been gasping!
20 Jul, 2011
Poor thing. It's hard to tell when the majority of the leaves are fine.
20 Jul, 2011
Drought - leave the hose running at the base for a couple of hours on a trickle, even if its raining - and make sure it gets 2 gallons a week, every week until November.
30 May, 2011