Oak, Sumac or Ivy

As the days grow warmer and you head for the gardens, please remember that Poison Oak, Sumac and Ivy will get you long before you see their leaves! Although, we make every effort to combat and control these three friends, we do find them living in the gardens of Bloomsbury.

Poison oak has leaves that look like oak leaves, usually with three leaflets but sometimes up to seven leaflets per leaf group. It grows as a vine or a shrub. Poison oak is more common in the western United States, but it is also found in the eastern United States and, rarely, in the Midwest. Yes, eastern US as in South Carolina!

Poison sumac has 7 to 13 leaflets per leaf stem. The leaves have smooth edges and pointed tips. Poison sumac grows as a shrub or small tree. It is found in wooded, swampy areas, such as Florida and parts of other southeastern states, and in wet, wooded areas in the northern United States. Yes, other southeastern states as in South Carolina.

Poison ivy usually has three broad, spoon-shaped leaves or leaflets ("Leaves of three? Let it be!"), but it can have more. It may grow as a climbing or low, spreading vine that sprawls through grass, Azaleas, ground covers (more common in the eastern United States) or as a shrub (more common in the northern United States, Canada, and the Great Lakes region). Yes, more common in the eastern US as in South Carolina.