Hi folks!
Coastal Maine, Zone:5A
Full Sun area
Question for any shrub experts or knowledgeable botanists! I've got about 8 rhus aromatica 'Gro-Low' fragrant sumac shrubs forming a short wide hedge across the front of my yard, trailing over a rock wall onto the city sidewalk. They've performed beautifully over 5 years, spread nicely over a foot per year, the fall color is usually spectacular, and I and all my local species of bees just love them.
However, they have never once set on the red sumac berries I (and my local bird population) was hoping for.
These shrubs are usually listed as dioecious and most write-ups of Gro-Low highlight the berries as a feature. I purchased mine from three different nurseries and assumed I'd get both male/female versions, yet mine all appear to be female. A lot of googling later I have tentatively determined that the rhus aromatica 'Gro-Low' propagated and sold in nurseries are all female clones.
So: to get the berries on my Gro-Low, apparently I need a regular male rhus aromatica? I saw one random blog commenter say this had indeed worked for him, but would love more input.
Presuming I can find a male or sweet-talk a local nursery into ordering one for me, I then have a follow-up question: the species are a much larger shrub, so placement will be a bit tricky. How close (in terms of feet, say) do I need to plant it to my Gro-Low in order to ensure pollination?
Thank you to all for any insights you might have. (Information is surprisingly sparse on this topic compared to the pollination data for berry bushes like holly, inkberries, etc.)
Marie Tulin
arbordave (SE MI)
Circus PeanutOriginal Author