Those twentieth century poet\/troubadours, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, captured a universal sentiment when they penned the words \u201cI get by with a little help from my friends.\u201d\u00a0 Most gardeners would agree.\u00a0 I depend on friends for inspiration and friendly criticism, not to mention timely donations of cuttings, perennial divisions and collected seeds.<\/p>\n
Last week I was touring a friend\u2019s inspiring suburban garden when I saw a relatively new arrival.\u00a0 It was a baby smoke bush or Cotinus coggygria, a plant that I have coveted regularly over the years but never managed to acquire.<\/p>\n
Smoke bush goes by many evocative names: smoke tree, purple mist tree, Jupiter\u2019s beard, Venetian sumach, mist tree and wig tree.\u00a0 I am not sure what this cashew or Anacardiaceae family member has to do with wigs or Jupiter, but it certainly has a \u201cbeard\u201d.<\/p>\n
The \u201cbeard\u201d or \u201csmoke\u201d is a visual effect created by thousands of long hairs that are attached to spent flower panicles.\u00a0 In summer, a mature smoke bush will cloak itself in dramatic, puffy clouds of these hairs, ranging in color from pinkish-beige to soft purple. \u00a0At ten to fifteen feet tall, the blooming smoke bush is an Impressionist painting come to life.<\/p>\n
Cotinus is not a big genus; it contains only three species, native to North American, Europe or Asia.\u00a0 The coggygria species is the Asian native, first introduced in the United States in 1656, only a generation after European colonists introduced themselves here.\u00a0 It prospered and eventually came to the attention of George Washington, who wrote of it in about 1786. \u00a0With that kind of association, it is a wonder that smoke bush is not on a coin, bill or state seal.<\/p>\n
In its natural state, smoke bush grows as a multi-stemmed shrub, with a rather loose habit.\u00a0 Many people prefer a little less bulk and grow smoke bushes as smoke trees.\u00a0 This is easy to do by choosing the strongest two or three main stems on young plants and pruning away all others.\u00a0 As the plant grows larger, continue this pruning to discourage side shoots below the established crown level and promote development of a rounded crown.\u00a0 It is a shame to have to bring Mr. Antlers and his ever-increasing family into any plant discussion, but it is worth noting that growing the smoke bush in tree form will also eventually deter hungry deer.<\/p>\n
Smoke trees in training will still require deer protection for the first several years.\u00a0 This is best done by encircling the young specimen with a barrier of hardware cloth or other wire mesh.\u00a0 Once the crown is above the eight-foot level, the barrier can be removed.<\/p>\n
In an era when planting spaces are more compact and gardeners look for trees that can anchor a small landscape or front strip, smoke bush grown in tree form will do the job.\u00a0 For those with power lines running in front of the house, smoke bush grows tall enough to create a strong presence, but remains short enough not to interfere with the lines. Take a look at the way utility companies often \u201cprune\u201d street trees and you will appreciate the value of that trait.<\/p>\n
Smoke bush varieties abound, bred for variations in \u2018smoke\u201d and foliage colors.\u00a0 Some are Cotinus coggygria selections, while others are hybrids of coggygria and \u00a0the larger American smoke bush or Cotinus obovatus.\u00a0 \u2018Royal Purple\u2019 is one of several purple-leafed coggygria varieties, with characteristic rounded foliage that emerges reddish purple in spring, darkens over the course of the growing season and ends up clothing itself in shades of red, orange and yellow in the fall.\u00a0 \u2018Nordine\u2019 and \u2018Black Velvet\u2019 are similar. The leaves are so appealing that they are occasionally used in cut-flower arrangements.<\/p>\n
Another variety that adds extra color is \u2018Ancot\u2019, sold commercially as Golden Spirit.\u00a0 The rounded leaves are golden-green through the growing season, coloring brilliantly in the fall.\u00a0 \u2018Ancot\u2019s only problem seems to be that it may not flower or produce the characteristic \u201csmoke\u201d.\u00a0 Sources differ, but the foliage alone makes the plant valuable in the garden.<\/p>\n
If you are looking for something smaller than the normal ten to fifteen foot smoke bush, try cultivars like \u2018\u2019Purple Supreme\u2019, which grows eight to ten feet high and features purple-pink smoke combined with purple leaves.\u00a0 Green-leafed \u2018Daydream\u2019 is about the same size as \u2018Purple Supreme\u2019, with extra-large, extra-fluffy pink inflorescences.\u00a0 \u2018Young Lady\u2019 is another similar-size, green-leafed form.<\/p>\n
Smoke bush is a relatively unfussy plant, though it is rather shallow-rooted.\u00a0 It tolerates a wide variety of soil conditions, but requires excellent drainage and full sun.\u00a0 If your area is like mine and features heavy clay soil, amend with sand or grit when planting.\u00a0 Pruning is necessary if you are growing your smoke bush in tree form.\u00a0 Otherwise, prune lightly to shape the plant after the \u201csmoke\u201d has dissipated.<\/p>\n
Grown as shrubs, smoke bushes make excellent hedges or large foundation plantings.\u00a0 Tree or shrub forms can also be used as specimen or accent subjects.\u00a0 If you have room, you should have smoke bush.\u00a0 One good source is ForestFarm, 14643 Watergap Rd., Williams, OR 97544-9599, (541) 846-7269, www.forestfarm.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Catalog free to U.S. customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Those twentieth century poet\/troubadours, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, captured a universal sentiment when they penned the words \u201cI get by with a little help from my friends.\u201d\u00a0 Most gardeners would agree.\u00a0 I depend on friends for inspiration and friendly criticism, not to mention timely donations of cuttings, perennial divisions and collected seeds. Last week … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3],"tags":[1203,957,491,688,1206,1204,1202,1205,621],"class_list":["post-1363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","tag-cotinus-coggygria","tag-fall-color","tag-flowering-shrubs","tag-flowering-trees","tag-jupiters-beard","tag-small-trees","tag-smoke-bush","tag-smoke-tree","tag-summer-flowering-plants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1363"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1364,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363\/revisions\/1364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}