Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) is a vigorous, deciduous plant that can be grown as a small specimen tree or an open, spreading shrub. Its shiny, compound green leaves turn bright, brilliant shades of orange and red in the fall. Inconspicuous green/yellow flowers turn into large, cone-shaped, fuzzy red fruit on female shrubs. Smooth Sumac is a suckering shrub and can spread aggressively if left unchecked. Plants that are less stressed will sucker less, so give enough water and do not remove more than 1/3 of the plant when pruning. Regularly remove suckers by pruning them off the base of the main trunk, or digging them up. Smooth Sumac can be shaped as a specimen tree (easier to prune suckers and control), or be allowed to form a privacy thicket or hedge in a large area. It is tolerant of urban pollution.