Description
PURPLE SMOKE TREE, COTINUS COGGYGRIA ATROPURPUREA (FAST SHOWY, FALL COLOR)
Purple Smoketree offers stunning dark purple foliage that turns red in autumn. The "smoke" is not its flowers but the colorful stalks that remain after the flowers have fallen.
It is the long pinkish filaments on the stems of the bloom clusters that create a striking pink to purplish pink cloudlike effect through the summer.
Other Names: Purple Smoke Tree, European Smoketree, Smoke Bush
Zone: 5 to 8 (possibly 4)
Growth Rate: Fast
Plant Type: Deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub
Family: Anacardiaceae
Native Range: Southern Europe to central China
Height: 10 to 15 feet
Spread: 10 to 15 feet
Shape: Upright, Rounded
Bloom Time: May-July
Bloom Color: Yellow
Sun: Full Sun
Fall Color: Bright shades of yellow, orange, purple, and red.
Drought Tolerance: High
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Site Requirements /Soil Tolerances: Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates a wide range of soils except for wet, poorly-drained ones. Prefers somewhat infertile loams, but also does well in poor, rocky soils. Good drainage is essential. Shallow fibrous root system.
Culture: If the bloom is not a concern, stems may be cut back hard in early spring each year to a framework to induce growth of vigorous new shoots with slightly larger than normal leaves. Such hard annual pruning will control the size, but most likely at the expense of profuse flowering.
Easy to transplant.
Uses Single specimen, group, or mass in shrub borders or sunny areas around the home. The long-lasting summer smoke display makes this a striking accent plant. Also may be used as an informal hedge or screen (a smoke screen as it were). Can be trained as a small tree.
Quantity: 20 Seeds
