I have the perfect place for a new shrub, and I've got my eye on the "Tiger Eyes" cutleaf Staghorn sumac.

Say "sumac" and some folks' lips curl. Two words pop into their minds: "suckers" and "scraggly," and quite possibly, a third - poison, as in poison sumac.

"Tiger Eyes" is a far cry from the sumac that volunteers in ditches along the road and can be best described as sucker-producing, invasive, scruffy and scraggly, in spite of its vivid fall colors.

"Tiger Eyes" is a 2004 Bailey Nurseries introduction that could easily be mistaken for a Japanese maple. In 2007, the dwarf "Tiger Eyes" received the Gold Medal Plant Award from the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society, one of several awards heaped on this cutleaf Staghorn sumac.

I stumbled across it while thumbing through garden magazines. The botanical name is Rhus typhina "Bailtiger," and purportedly a Bailey employee found a mutation of "Laciniata" among other sumacs at the nursery. Bailey Nurseries, based in Minnesota, is know for introducing "Endless Summer" and "Blushing Bride" hydrangeas, "Easy Elegance" roses, "First Editions" vines and a wide variety of lilacs.

This shrub's overall appearance is striking. At maturity, "Tiger Eyes" can reach 6 to 8 feet in height and spread. Described as easy to grow, it is not large or invasive. It will sucker some, but not nearly as aggressively as its brethren.

Buds are soft and reddish pink, and open to chartreuse green. The fresh, bright color and lacy, almost frilly leaves set it apart in the spring landscape. As the season unfolds, leaves turn soft gold set off by rosy-pink leaf stems. Branches angle a little upward from a flat crown while leaflets drape downward.

Garden designers are incorporating "Tiger Eyes" into landscapes as a specimen plant, but it also plays nice with other shrubs in groupings and adds architectural interest in borders where foliage acts an accent against a mix of perennials and annuals, particularly the airy growth and soft purple flowers of Russian sage, yellow threadleaf or tickseed coreposis, annual or perennial salvia, "Marshall's Delight" monarda and daylilies with yellow, pink or soft red blossoms. All of these plants complement the cutleaf Staghorn sumac's leaves and stems.

"Tiger Eyes" can also be mass planted for effect.

As lovely as these foliage plants are throughout spring and summer, the real color show is expected in fall. Leaves turn deep yellow, orange and scarlet, lusters of small flowers formed, followed by fruit (drupes). Discussions at garden blogs express some disappointment in fall color in young plants, but like many things in life, it should improve with age. As the year deepens toward winter and leaves drop, the plant's architectural form shows off in the landscape and the fruit persists through winter as an attraction for birds.

"Tiger Eyes" is labeled as hardy to zone 4 and grows in full to part sun. If the planting area is well-drained, it can tolerate poor soils, even clay. Once the plant is established, it is described as drought tolerant.