KG494 Print Combined

More documents

Recommendations

Info

shrub of the month Smokin’ hot A veritable all-rounder, who wouldn’t want a Cotinus in the garden? IMAGE DoraDalton/Getty Images Words Sue Witteman This shrub has the telling common name of smoke bush, with good reason. You may have noticed when walking around your neighbourhood in summer, the odd large shrub covered with curious panicles of fluffy flowers, looking not unlike puffs of smoke. The flowers on this shrub look like no other and are an arresting sight when in full puff. But the excitement doesn’t end there, for in autumn it is the turn of the leaves to stop you in your tracks, when they turn the most stunning colours of red, yellow or orange. Green, purple or yellow? Not only do Cotinus have great autumn colour, they also have a range of spring and summer colours from which to choose. For the green-leaved versions, there is C. coggygria, the European smoke bush, or the larger-growing C. obovatus (syn. C. americanus) the American smoke bush, which also sports larger leaves. If you would like one of the purple-leaved Cotinus, there is C. coggygria ‘Foliis Purpureis’, the purple smoke bush; C. coggygria ‘Purpurea’; C. coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ and C. coggygria ‘Velvet Cloak’. All are lovely varieties with varying degrees of purple in their leaves. For green and purple-tinged leaves, there is C. ‘Grace’, which starts off purple and then a bit of green creeps in, and C. coggygria ‘Red Spirit’, starting off green and changing to purple as the season progresses. For a fresh lime-yellow leaf, plant the delicious-looking C. coggygria ‘Golden Spirit’. Most Cotinus flowers start out a pale-pink, turning smoky grey as they age. The purple-leaved varieties have stronger coloured flowers of purplish-pink. How to use Cotinus can be planted as shrubs or grown as small trees, usually to about 3m in height. If using it as a shrub, you can either leave it alone to do its thing or, if you want a smaller bush but bigger leaves, then prune it down nearly to ground level. The resultant long, fresh stems look spectacular and are also great for picking and adding to a vase. The fluffy flower heads can also be attached to a wreath, forming a soft, ethereal-looking circlet. Many successful gardens have included purple foliage to act as points of interest in what is usually a monochromatic green scheme. Cotinus do this job superbly – with a good average height, the option to prune if required, and the purple leaves have a grape-like bloom to them which softens the look. They can be planted on their own as a large and showy gardener.kiwi kiwigardener 45
46 kiwigardener gardener.kiwi IMAGE Clockwise from top Maksims Grigorjevs/Getty Images, seven75/Getty Images, AlSimonov/Getty Images, Alexey_M/Getty Images, Sue Witteman
Page 2 and 3: growing with you Three Time Winner
Page 4 and 5: Alocasia Amazonica Life is easy whe
Page 6 and 7: LOVE YOUR Winter garden WHANGAREI:
Page 8 and 9: Elite Series Greenhouses Traditiona
Page 10 and 11: Something for everyone JUNE 2020 RE
Page 12 and 13: Adding a bit of life to the garden
Page 14 and 15: Thursday FRIDAY 9 10 SATURDAY Sunda
Page 16 and 17: key main tasks Sow & transplant Not
Page 18 and 19: n a little piece of land, in the mi
Page 20 and 21: IMAGE Organic Market Garden IMAGE O
Page 22 and 23: You wait all Year in anticipation
Page 24 and 25: While our early ancestors did their
Page 26 and 27: Tools to rake it in Two rakes will
Page 28 and 29: A cut above. Powerful steel gear tr
Page 30 and 31: Perennials that pack a punch New: h
Page 32 and 33: give the plant a good haircut to en
Page 34 and 35: LEAFY COLOUR Heucheras, heucharella
Page 36 and 37: IMAGE Clockwise from top left ULADZ
Page 38 and 39: the Millichamps have found that per
Page 40 and 41: Caring For Your House Plants The pe
Page 42 and 43: sour. If you don’t have any charc
Page 44 and 45: Plants to consider Use a selection
Page 48 and 49: specimen, imparting a regal look to
Page 50 and 51: HARDWOOD CUTTINGS Hardwood cuttings
Page 52 and 53: ROOT CUTTINGS Taking root cuttings
Page 54 and 55: Winter is the perfect time to break
Page 56 and 57: In-ground or potted? If you don’t
Page 58 and 59: the mounds helps reduce waterloggin
Page 60 and 61: SOWING TO REAP & SHARE Are you a me
Page 62 and 63: September or in early October, prov
Page 64 and 65: IMAGE Clockwise from left ilbusca/G
Page 66 and 67: It’s all about the roots! Grow yo
Page 68 and 69: peppery taste somewhat. Two other t
Page 70 and 71: Carrot loaf This loaf can be served
Page 72 and 73: Baked grated carrots Ingredients
Page 74 and 75: How to wash leeks To remove soil tr
Page 76 and 77: IMAGE MachineHeadz/Getty Images Opp
Page 78 and 79: Christmas and early summer. If you
Page 80 and 81: IMAGE Sebastian Arning Getty Images
Page 82 and 83: clockwise from top left Make your c
Page 84 and 85: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Page 86 and 87: DIY Plant shelves This simple outdo
Page 88 and 89: 6. To get the look Mark painted the
Page 90 and 91: Bleach it? Question I’ve heard yo
Page 92 and 93: Edible flowers The sweet violet, Vi
Page 94 and 95: giveaways Treat your pet [Code: Dog
Page 96 and 97:
free gardening gloves † with ever
Page 98 and 99:
Plan Ahead for 2021 Join us to Visi
Page 100 and 101:
gardener.kiwi kiwigardener 99
show all

KG494 Print Combined

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?