Many experienced gardeners want to try something unusual, to experiment with their personal plot, various exotic plants that stand out from the rest of the trees and bushes with their originality and unusual appearance are ideal for this purpose. That is why so often in the gardens you can see one overseas curiosity that people gladly choose, knowing about the external features of sumac. The tree grows in different climatic conditions, so you can not accurately determine its homeland. In nature, there are about 150 species of plants. The closest relatives are the pistachio and mango tree.
Sumy is also called a vinegar tree, the reason lies in the unusual taste of its leaves. In many countries, the plant is used as a seasoning. Cooking sauces and dressings does not go without the help of sumac. The tree gives excellent fruits used in Central Asian cuisine. There are many recipes for pickling, salad dressings, spice is often added to cereals, it is replaced with vinegar and lemon. Sumy is still compared to dried pomegranate, but it, unlike the latter, has no pronounced bitterness and is much more acidic.
On favorable soil, the tree can grow up to 10 m in height. In appearance, it resembles a multi-stemmed palm, and horizontal shoots with pinnate leaves are similar to deer antlers. Sumac leaves are distinguished by magnificent relief, velvety and dark green color in summer. The tree does not lose its beauty and decorativeness in the autumn, it shimmers with scarlet, purple and orange shades, attracting attention to itself. In winter, the plant is decorated with bright red tassels of berries.
Having enough space in the garden is very important for sumac. A tree in a short time spreads a huge amount of overgrowth, which is a significant problem for gardeners, since it is very difficult to deal with it. The dioeciousness of the plant should be taken into account and planted next to the male and female sums. Fruits appear only on the second. Our gardeners most often acquire vinegar, but there are still other widespread varieties. Some of them are used as spices, but there are also very dangerous species that emit toxic substances that, when touched, cause burns.
Sumy grows on stony dry soils on the North American continent. The tree, whose photo won the hearts of many gardeners, loves warm, sunny and sheltered areas. The plant is not capricious and frost-resistant, at low temperatures the shoots can freeze, but in the warm period they recover quite quickly. In winter, it does not hurt to mulch the root system with peat, dry leaves, it is recommended to put dry branches that would hold snow.
Sumy is undemanding to the soil. The vinegar tree tolerates drought very well, but does not tolerate waterlogging, so it needs good drainage. The plant actively forms a shoot that has the ability to spread over long distances, so gardeners often declare war on it, but they can’t dare to get rid of the sum itself, because there is little to compare with its beauty.
