Cotinus coggygria
Smoke Bush
Every Cotinus coggygria on HortOS in one place: the plain species and 9 varieties. Pick a size to see it across all of them.
7 growers · 6 sizes · from $17.00 ex GST
- Type
- Deciduous shrub
- Height
- 3 m to 5 m
- Spread
- 3 m to 4.6 m
- Growth
- Fast
- Flowers
- Yellow, late spring to early summer by HortFlora, the smoke lasting through summer; South Australia's Plant Selector gives autumn
- Sun
- Full sun; part shade too by South Australia's Plant Selector
- Drought
- Tolerant
- In Australia
- Not native
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Growing smoke bush
South Australia's Plant Selector gives full sun or part shade, clay, loam or sand, acid to alkaline, and minimal supplementary watering, and ticks drought among what it tolerates; its notes say it prefers moist, well-drained soil but is drought tolerant once established. The Missouri Botanical Garden calls sharp drainage essential and says it takes poor, rocky soil but not wet, poorly drained ground, and that the roots are shallow and fibrous; North Carolina State Extension says that fibrous root system makes it easy to transplant. For flowers, Missouri advises only very light pruning in early spring; for foliage, cutting stems hard back to a framework then, at the cost of that year's smoke. American references report some leaf spot, rust and verticillium wilt. HortFlora gives cuttings and seed.
Using smoke bush
Missouri suggests a single specimen, a group or a mass in a sunny border, and an informal hedge or screen, and North Carolina State Extension a large accent plant or an informal row. The Plant Selector calls it an excellent small feature or contrast tree and notes that some cultivars have deep purple foliage. HortFlora's Purpureus Group covers plants with green or purple leaves but purple-haired flower clusters, and its Rubrifolius Group clones with leaves reddish at least at first; North Carolina State Extension warns that purple-leaved forms planted in shade may turn green. Growers mostly list named forms.
What to check before you buy
Most listings under the species are named forms, and by HortFlora two of them are hybrids with the American smokebush, Cotinus obovatus: Grace for certain and Flame probably, so the facts on this page are the species', not theirs. Read the full name on each list before comparing prices. The table above shows the sizes growers list. Stock that crosses a state border moves under the state and territory biosecurity rules.
Cautions
North Carolina State Extension says the plant is in the same family as poison ivy and that contact with its resinous sap may cause contact dermatitis, above all in people sensitive to poison ivy.
Prices are set by each grower and shown ex GST. Availability is confirmed by the grower at order.
Common questions
- Who grows Cotinus coggygria wholesale in Australia?
- 7 wholesale growers list Cotinus coggygria on HortOS right now, each with their own pot sizes and trade prices. They are in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. The growers are named on this page.
- What pot sizes does Cotinus coggygria come in?
- Growers on HortOS list Cotinus coggygria in 100mm, 140mm, 200mm, 250mm, 330mm and 400mm.
- How do I order Cotinus coggygria from these growers?
- HortOS is for the trade. Add the lines you want to a list and send it: each grower gets their part of the order by email, confirms what they have and quotes freight, and nothing is bought until you approve it. Listing, searching and ordering are free.
- Why is it called smoke bush?
- The Missouri Botanical Garden says the name comes not from the tiny yellowish flowers but from the billowy hairs on the lengthened stalks of the spent flower clusters, which turn smoky pink to purplish pink in summer and cover the plant in hazy, smoke-like puffs.
- How big does Cotinus coggygria grow?
- South Australia's Plant Selector gives 3 to 5 m high and 3 to 4 m across, HortFlora a shrub 3 to 4 m tall, and the Missouri Botanical Garden about 3 to 4.6 m tall and as wide.
- Does smoke bush colour in autumn?
- Yes. The Missouri Botanical Garden calls its autumn colour highly variable but, at its best, yellow, orange and purplish red, and North Carolina State Extension gives reddish purple. HortFlora says it is grown for the autumn colour of its leaves.
- How do you prune a smoke bush?
- For the smoke, the Missouri Botanical Garden advises only very light pruning in early spring. For bigger leaves, Missouri says the stems may be cut hard back to a framework in early spring, and North Carolina State Extension says to cut back in late winter to 15 to 20 cm above the ground; either way that year's flowers are lost, and North Carolina State Extension says leaving a third of the old stems keeps some flowering.
Sources
- GBIF species match API
- Australian Plant Census (Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria): search for Cotinus
- HortFlora, the Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria): Cotinus coggygria
- HortFlora, the Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria): the genus Cotinus
- Plant Selector+, Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia: Cotinus coggygria
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Cotinus coggygria
- North Carolina State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Cotinus coggygria
The growers, sizes and prices above are live and change as lists arrive. Cite this page: HortOS, Smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria), https://au.hortosapp.com/plants/cotinus-coggygria.
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