Tiger Eyes Sumac (Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger') - foliage plant, illustrated plant cardIllustration

Tiger Eyes Sumac

Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger'

Also called tiger eyes and tiger eyes cutleaf staghorn sumac

Tiger Eyes Sumac blooms from July through July.

Bloom calendar
Bloom time
Jul
checked
Hardiness
Zones 4–8
checked
Sun
Full sun
checked
Water
Low water
checked
Mature size
6 ft × 6 ft
checked
Type
Shrub
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Tiger Eyes Sumac

Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 6 ft tall and 6 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 3 years (a house reading).

No toxicity note is on file for Tiger Eyes Sumac. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.

Verification
What was checked

Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.

See the 10 sources it was checked against

When to plant Tiger Eyes Sumac

Plant Tiger Eyes Sumac in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms in July.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Tiger Eyes Sumac get?

Illustration of Tiger Eyes Sumac drawn to scale beside an adult6 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult6 ftwide
About 6 ft tall and 6 ft wide at maturity: about as tall as an adult.

See Tiger Eyes Sumac in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Tiger Eyes Sumac

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Space Tiger Eyes Sumac about 6 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.

Plant them
6 ft apart
Per 10 sq ft
one needs about 36 sq ft
4 by 8 ft bed
about 1

Add Tiger Eyes Sumac to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Where these facts come from

Tiger Eyes Sumac's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 10 published sources on September 26, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.

  • Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
  • Plant Addictsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil and pests
  • University of Wisconsin HorticultureUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Wisconsin Horti...height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags and soil
  • US plant patent (Google Patents)Bailey Nurseries, the breeder's registration, via Google Patentsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, diseases and pests
  • Chicago Botanic GardenPlant Finderhardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags and pests
  • firsteditionsplants.comFirst Editions (Bailey Nurseries' brand, the introducer)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and pests
  • The Morton Arboretumheight, spread, trait tags, soil and diseases
  • NC State Extensiontrait tags, soil, pests and toxicity
  • shop.baileynurseries.comBailey Nurseries product portal (the introducer)height, spread, hardiness zones and soil
  • ndsu.eduNorth Dakota State University Extension (F2205 Staghorn Sumac, July 20...hardiness zones

How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.

The Sumac group

One of 4 in the Sumac group. Same genus, similar care.

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Design a garden with this

Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.

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