When left unpruned, it grows as a vase-shaped, multistemmed tree or large shrub, generally reaching a height of 10 to 15 feet. As a smoketree matures, its branches tend to spread out, giving the tree an open, wide shape. Ultimately, a smoketree can be 8 to 14 feet wide, although both its height and width can vary somewhat, depending on the cultivar.
The smoketree tolerates all types of soil, including dry, gravelly soil, light sand and heavy clay. Its growth rate, however, is highest when the tree is planted in fertile, loamy soil. Under optimal conditions, the Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute says a smoketree can add about 13 to 24 inches to its height each year.
This tree has a shallow, finely branched, fibrous root system, making it quite tolerant of dry spells. In old gardening books you will find cotinus referred to as Rhus cotinus ; in fact the species Cotinus coggygria is sometimes called Venetian sumac , endorsing its association with the genus. Now separated from rhus, cotinus stands alone as the genus of a handful of species, the cultivars of which include some of our finest foliage shrubs.
To most gardeners, cotinus is synonymous with purple foliage, the plum-leaved forms being the most widely planted. The green-leaved smoke bush options are equally impressive, however, their soft leaves contrasting in colour and texture with evergreens and plants with typically formed foliage.
Many of these excel when it comes to autumn colour. They are large, hardy, summer-flowering, deciduous shrubs with attractive, rounded green, purple or gold leaves and feathery flower plumes. Its common name of smoke bush or smoke tree is inspired by the wispy character of its flowers.
See below for the best cotinus to grow. Conditions Full sun or partial shade on any well-drained soil. Reasonably tolerant of exposed sites. This cotinus is a large, bushy shrub with abundant, rounded, deep-purple leaves turning rich red in autumn.
The flower plumes are purple-pink, tipped with creamy yellow at their peak. A superb background shrub. A smoke bush with upright and bushy in habit with oval, red-purple leaves that turn red and orange in autumn. Feathery, pale-pink flower panicles are freely produced in summer. Raised at Notcutts Nurseries , Suffolk, in An unusual cotinus with fresh lemon-yellow leaves, becoming pale green as they age.
The foliage turns purple in autumn. The magnificent flower plumes are creamy-white, becoming beige, quite unlike any of the other smoke bush cultivars. Bushy in habit, with small, deep-burgundy, wavy-edged leaves that turn rich red in autumn. Bred by Peter Moore at Longstock Park, Hampshire, in , this is perhaps the finest of the smaller, purple-leaved forms of cotinus. Stem cuttings are preferred because the results will duplicate the unique ornamental character displayed by its parent plant.
To propagate smoke bush by stem cuttings, follow these steps:. Smoke bush seeds are very tiny, but you can harvest them from the tree's small kidney-shaped fruit.
Then grow your own bushes in the spring after any signs of frost. Many gardeners choose to grow smoke bush seeds in the fall using the same steps. Growing the bushes from seed requires extreme patience.
You may not see any activity for two spring or fall seasons. Use these steps for planting seeds:. Smoke bush has a nicely contained fibrous root system and is easy to transplant into a pot with these steps.
Be careful not to overwater your smoke bush this time of year. Do not fertilize the bushes during the winter. Use around 3 inches of mulch around the bases of your outdoor plants to protect the roots.
The oblique-banded leafroller , a native North American pest that feeds on a wide range of plants, can be a problem with smoke bush. If soils are not well-drained, smoke bush is very susceptible to verticillium wilt —a browning of the leaves caused by the fungus Verticillium. It can also get scabs and leaf spot , a fungal condition prevalent in warmer weather. If you live in the eastern United States, watch out for stem canker. The smoke bush doesn't require much care. But when this bush is used as a specimen plant, a dramatic accent in a garden, or in a pot near an entryway as a focal point, be sure to give it some attention to keep it looking good.
The flowers and anthers of the smoke bush plant attract honey bees. But they won't stay long since the wispy flowers don't yield much nectar or pollen. Cotinus Coggygria.
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