Not all sumacs are alike, not all sumacs spread (the rope-like roots of those that do are called "ryhzomes"), and those that spread are a gardener's nightmare. I have only come up with one proven solution to getting rid of them, and that is by digging up and removing every single inch of rhyzomes by hand. This has been proven in Eastern Canada and the USA where sumacs are an invasive species. Roundup only kills the plant above ground; ditto for burning. Cutting (eg using a lawnmower) encourages spreading. Rototilling spreads the pieces of rhyzomes around where they will take root happily. There IS a herbicide that must be applied to the rhyzomes that will kill them, but since you have to dig them up to do so, you might as well just remove them. That herbicide is only legal for use in Canada by trained and licenced users, not the average gardener. It can be obtained in the USA, but as already said, you have to dig up the rhyzomes to paint them with it, so you might as well just remove them and not bother with the applicating of the herbicide. If you don't remove the parent plants, they will of course send out new babies to replace all you've dug up… Since the rhyzomes can go more than 2' deep, I doubt a root barrier would stop the spread. I am personally dealing with this exact situation right now. It is said that it takes 3 years of careful digging (removing bits you missed the previous year), to remove everything. So this is not a quick and easy project you must undertake. People will be happy to dish out free advice on this, when they see you on yours hands and knees digging, but virtually no one has any advice that is worth trying. Kneel and dig is your ONLY viable option. For three thorough, consecutive years. Tough if you have arthritis anywhere… All the best. In the picture below, I have dug up rhyzomes on the right side, just to the left of the Maple tree in the middle. The orange flags indicate where I left off, and areas to be watched for regrowth, or rhyzomes that go deeper than 2'. There are 2 adult sumacs on the left of the house. The original parent plants died long ago, and I eventually cut them down. So I'm sure the existing 2 adults are now sending out lots of rhyzomes… There are sproutings in the next door neighbour's property, so unless I put in a root barrier, and it WORKS, the rhyzomes with just come back from his property. And no, he won't bother digging them up. The lawnmower technique is the most he'll do… file://localhost/Volumes/LEXAR/DCIM/101ND300/DTC_8768.JPG

Hi i recently dug up 5 sumacs for at a friends place. I wasn't sure if i should only take the smaller ones, but ended up taking larger ones.I planted them early in the spring, before the buds got large & opened ( I think the end of april- as they leaf later that other tree's) The smallest one is approx 4 ft high, and the other 4 are 7-8 ft high. I just made sure that i got as much of the main root, and smaller of shoots as possible. Once planted i watered them every day for about 2 wks ( although one that i planted in out back yard- i never once watered after i planted it- and it even took), and the other 4 all took with no problems.I was very surprised. I had researched it for some time, checking out other garden sites etc on the web on their care, the positive's & negatives of planting them. The only draw back people advised me of that i also knoew about was the suckers you'd get. All the advise i've gotten is that they just cut them off with trimmers of the lawnmauer - and the sucker doesn't grow back.The suckers only needed to be delt with about once every year- and grow fairly close too the surface of the ground ( 6inches or so). They do need space too grow, but as long as your willing to put up with the suckers, and the care of these, sumacs do provide a nice accent too one garden.Great fall colour etc good luck

Hi Stoloniferous, congrats on your new house and the new baby on the way! It sounds like a beautiful property. I too, share your passion for native plants. I don't have any of the "poisons" on my lot, because it is former farmland and they have not colonized here, but had plenty of poison ivy at my previous house. I've gotten my share of rashes over the years! Frankly, if I had poison ivy or poison sumac, which are both native and wildlife-friendly, I would be hesitant to eradicate them too, especially in the wilder areas. They can act as a wonderful deterrant from people wandering onto your property! :-p Is there any way you can consider keeping your Poison sumac patch and either fencing or growing shrubbery and garden beds around it to make it difficult to get to? I can't imagine that your baby will be toddling around back there anytime soon, and you can also teach the child to stay away from certain plants. There are LOTS of other poisonous plants that people grow in yards and gardens, it's hard to avoid all of them. My yard was infested with woody invasives when I moved here 5 years ago - although I have no wet area. I have been involved in a intensive effort to remove Acer platanoides (Norway maple), Celastrus orbiculatus (Oriental Bittersweet), Frangula alnus (Glossy buckthorn), etc. for several years now. I use a bow saw and Triclopyr concentrate (Brush-B-gone) in a squeeze bottle. Crawl around, cut stem, apply small amount of herbicide on stem only. Cut, apply herbicide. Sweat, drop pruning shears, get stung by yellow jackets, crawl around, cut, apply herbicide. I also purchased a Weed Wrench which has become an invaluable tool for pulling out small trees and shrubs. Because your Poison sumac is in a wet area, you must use extra planning and caution. Most of these herbicides or the surfactants they use are highly toxic in water. If this area is accessible to heavy machinery, perhaps you could have someone with a back hoe pull them out? Just my rambling thoughts...

I have several of the plants and love them all. From early spring when the fresh leaves come out, they are that lime-green colour. As the season progresses, they change to yellow, orange, red. they last until the hard frost. Yes, there are suckers which are easy to control. You can pull them out or if on the grass, the lawnmower takes care of them. I want to grow more so I learned the hard way, the only time you can dig up the suckers and transplant them is when the plant is dormant. So, when all the leaves are off. If you try to transplant any other time, the sucker dies. And FYI, I live in Ontario, Canada in zone 5. Hope that helped. BTW, I grow them in beds.