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Rhus lentii (Pink Flowering Sumac) – A large, rounded evergreen shrug to 6 to 8 feet tall by 8 to 15+ feet wide with reddish stems holding pale grey-green oval leaves that have a short pointed tip (abruptly acuminate) and prominent lighter colored veins. Showy clusters of bright pink flowers appear in late winter to early spring.
Plant in full to part sun in a moderately well drained soil and irrigate occasionally to not at all – looks great in coastal California gardens without any supplemental irrigation, even during drought years. Hardy to 20-25°F - a bit more tender than other Rhus species but was undamaged in our January 2007 freeze that had 3 nights in a row at 25°F. A very nice showy large shrub that adds a hint of gray into the landscape and with a very colorful flower display. A great specimen plant or for a large-scale slope mass planting.
Rhus lentii is native to the California Floristic Provence which extends into northern Baja California. It grows along dry maritime bluffs and canyons in the western Vizcaino desert along the Pacific coast of northern Baja California and on Cedros Island. The name Rhus is derived from 'rhous', an ancient Greek name for Sumac. Rhus lentii was first collected by Dr. John Allen Veach on a California Academy of Sciences expedition to Cedros Island in 1859 and named by Albert Kellogg to honor William M. Lent, a financier in San Francisco, who promoted the expedition.
After admiring this beautiful plant while on Cedros Island we were able to collect seed from plants growing in the Island section of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and first offered it for sale in 1993 and at that time planted the two beautiful large specimens growing along San Marcos Road in front of our nursery - the larger of the two measured just over 8 feet tall and 18 feet wide in 2016.
The information displayed on this page about Rhus lentii is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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