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specimen, imparting a regal
look to the garden.
Fast, upright growers when
young, they slow down as they
age and end up forming large
many-branched, round-headed
shrubs. And they are easy to
propagate – just cut off any
of the branches that lie on
the soil and that have formed
roots (a procedure to carry
out in autumn). If the Cotinus
hasn’t yet layered itself, you
can also take softwood cuttings
in summer.
I have a confession to make:
while I must admit I have
yet to plant a Cotinus in my
own garden, I have, however,
planted many in other people’s
gardens, and am excitedly
looking forward to my next
move to my forever garden,
whereupon I shall plant as
many varieties of Cotinus as I
can get hold of.
Care
Cotinus are hardy and can be
planted anywhere you can
provide them with an open,
sunny position and free-draining
soil. Contrary to many shrubs,
the soil shouldn’t be too fertile
or too moist as this will lead
to unruly branch growth and
poor colour. While Cotinus can
be grown in most climates, leaf
colour will be better in areas that
have colder winters and drier
summers. Though the greenleaved
versions can tolerate
very light shade, the purplehued
ones will lose their colour
and revert to green unless they
receive full sun. An exception to
the sun rule is
C. coggygria ‘Golden Spirit’,
which appreciates partial shade.
Cotinus are amenable to being
pruned, with most of the pruning
being carried out at the end of
winter – remove only a few of the
older branches at a time. Only
prune if you need to reshape or
reduce the size, as smoke bushes
flower on wood that is three
years old. If this is pruned off,
you are in for a bit of a wait until
the next bout of flowering. And I
can vouch for this indeed being
the case. Years ago, I had planted
a gentle curve of Cotinus in a
friend’s garden and had it in my
head that they should be pruned
hard every year before the spring
growth had begun, and then
wondered why they were such
poor flowerers. Now, I know.
Plant a Cotinus if you can. You
will be rewarded with year-round
seasonal interest, from the
round leaves to the cool flowers
to the autumn colour to the
interesting skeleton in winter. It
is a tough, good all-rounder, and
you can’t ask for more than that
in a shrub.
Opposite clockwise from top With
handsome foliage such as this,
Cotinus coggyria ‘Royal Purple’ looks
good even on a rainy day; C. coggyria
showing the ‘puffs of smoke’ from
which it gets its common name; The
bonus of the autumn colouring of
C. coggyria – it lights up a late season
garden; Continuing the fire theme, the
foliage glows as the late autumn sun
hits it; C. coggyria ‘Velvet Cloak’ in its
full flower and foliage glory, putting
on a show.
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