Smoke Bush
Cotinus coggygria · a purple-leaf smokebush
Grown for rich purple leaves and the billowy plumes of pinkish 'smoke' that follow the flowers in summer, then red-purple fall colour. A striking specimen or informal hedge, drought tolerant once settled. Full sun keeps the leaves purple; avoid wet soil. Its sap can irritate skin sensitive to poison ivy.
- Mature size
- 12 × 17 ft
- 4 × 5.5 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 4b–8b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Dry to moist
- Blooms
- Jun–Jul
- Fall color Oct–Nov
Smoke Bush at its mature size
A mature Smoke Bush grows 10 to 15 feet tall and 15 to 20 feet wide, taller than most people.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: NC State Extension.
Through the year
What Smoke Bush looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
Dormant · Dec–Mar
Bare gray stems and twigs.
In leaf · Apr–May, Sep
Rich deep purple-burgundy round leaves, no smoke plumes.
In flower · Jun–Aug
Purple leaves topped with fluffy pinkish-purple smoke-like plumes.
Fall · Oct–Nov
Scarlet and red-orange mixed with purple, bright.
Photos
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Growing Smoke Bush
- Grows well in
- The Northeast, the Southeast, the Midwest, the Plains and Mountain West, the Pacific Northwest, and California.
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Good for
- Hedge, specimen, drought tolerant, deer resistant, and fall color
- Leaves
- Drops its leaves in winter
- Native to
- Southern Europe and Central China
Spacing for a hedge
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Smoke Bush, that’s about 17 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See Smoke Bush in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other smokebushes
Winecraft Gold Smokebush
Smoke BushAll drawn to the same scale.