Cotinus: American Smoke Tree
Cotinus is named for its cool, smoky flowers, but they offer much more. Large, round leaves of blue-green, dusky purple or gold turn up the heat in autumn–changing to brilliant orange and red before falling.
Plant care & info
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Cotinus
Common: Smoke Tree, Smoke bush
Native North America (Tennesee Alabama Texas), Southern Europe, China and Eastern Himalayas.
Small white, pink or yellow flowers in June-July are held in 6″ to 12″ panicles. The smokiness comes from fuZone Zone y hairs on seed clusters that remain on the plant after flowering and can stay for months, changing color the entire time.
Alternate simple leaves 1.5” – 3.5” long oval shaped. Colors range from gold green to greenish blue, and purple. AmaZone ing fall color varies by type, but includes gold, peach, orange, coral, pink, scarlet, red, maroon and purple!
Ranging from 6’ shrubs to 25’ trees.
Full sun-part shade. Leaves tend to lose gold or purple color if grown in too much shade.
Cotinus adapts to many soils and pH. Very drought tolerant, will tolerate poor soils. Cotinus obivatus is tolerant of clay soil.
Relatively trouble free.
USDA Zone one 5 sometimes in warmer parts of Zone 4.
Tree forms are great in small gardens and shrubby smoke bushes quickly fill empty background spaces. Add that Cotinus are easy to care for, being drought tolerant and disease resistant and we’ve got a hot garden addition on our hands!
Explore More Smoke Trees
American Smoke Tree
Cotinus Obovatus – American Smoke Tree
Large round blue-green leaves turn magnificent yellow, orange and salmon pink in autumn. Small summer flowers in fuZone Zone y clusters resemble smoke. One of the best features for Portland is that Cotinus obovatus is TOLERANT OF CLAY SOIL!! Upright trunk with round canopy.
Grows to 25-30′ x 25-30′, sun, Zone 4.
'Golden Spirit'
Cotinus Coggygria ‘Golden Spirit’
Bright yellow and chartreuse leaves turn electrifying shades of coral, orange and red. Small white-pink flowers in smoky plumes in June-July. Like many gold-leafed plants, ‘Golden Spirit’ can burn in the hottest summer sun, but deep watering before heat waves can really help.
Grows 8′ x 6′, sun to part shade, Zone 4.
Cotinus 'Grace'
Cotinus ‘Grace’
‘Grace’ is a hybrid:C. obovatus x C. coggygria ‘Velvet Cloak’
‘Grace’ is just lovely. New leaves are pinkish-purple turning green as the season rolls along, so for much of the year she’s green with pink tips. Small pink flowers are in huge clusters, up to 12″ in summer, and fall color is fire red and purple. One of ‘Grace’s’ parents is a tree, and that DNA is expressed in size, as she gets taller than C. coggygria varieties.
Grows 12′ x 12′ in 10 years, up to 20′ given time, sun-part shade (greener in shade), Zone 5.
'Old Fashioned'
Cotinus Coggygria ‘Old Fashioned’
If you like the idea of ‘Grace’ but need something a little smaller, ‘Old Fashioned’ is a good choice. New leaves are pink-ish purple and turn a soft green, but more green is expressed than is seen in ‘Grace’. Small pale flowers in 6″ clusters during summer add to the beauty of the foliage, which turns bright pink, red and purple before dropping in autumn.
Grows 6-8′ x 5-6′, sun-part shade, Zone 5.
'Royal Purple'
Cotinus Coggygria ‘Royal Purple’
By far our most popular smoke bush, and for a good reason; inky dark purple leaves! Dark leaves create depth in the garden and ‘Royal Purple’ Cotinus is one of the best plants for it. Pink summer flowers are followed by large fuzzy purple seed clusters that cover the shrub in purple haze. Fall leaves are bright red and purple.
Grows 15′ x 10-12′, sun-pt shade, Zone 4.
