Smoke Bush
Cotinus coggygria
Choose between the smoky flower haze and the foliage — a March cutback buys one at the cost of the other, and verticillium wilt is the real worry.
Light Full sun.
Water Drought-tolerant once established.
Height 4 m
Spread 11 ft 6 in
Spacing 350 cm
Spacing & sowing
- Plant spacing
- 11 ft 6 in
- In-row spacing
- 11 ft 6 in
- Between rows
- 14 ft 4 in
- Square-foot density
- Not suited to SFG
Growing
- Type
- Shrub · Perennial
- Botanical family
- Mixed / other
- Sunlight
- Full sun.
- Watering
- Drought-tolerant once established.
- Feeding
- Rarely needs feeding.
- Frost tolerant
- Yes
- Flowering
- May
- Pruning
- An optional hard prune in March, if it is the foliage you want.
Through the year
- Apr–May Bud Break
- May–Sep Flowering
- Sep–Nov Growing
- Nov–Dec Leaf Fall
- Jan–Apr Leaf Fall
Companions
Ornamental grasses, Lavender, Roses
Pests & problems
- Generally trouble-free No notable pest or disease problems when grown in the right conditions — one of the easy ones.
The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com