| Common Name | Smoke bush, smoketree |
| Genus | Cotinus |
| Species | coggygria |
| Family | Anacardiaceae |
| Life Cycle | deciduous shrub |
| Bundle Size | 10 bare roots per bundle |
| Care | All of these plants will ship to you from Vermont in early April. They will be just coming out of dormancy. You may see swelling buds or a bit of new growth, but in general they will be in a dormant state and may look a little dead. Don't worry! They will wake up. You may see a bit of mold on the roots but this is completely normal. Simply wash it off and plant immediately. As a precaution you can treat the roots with a fungicide or biofungicide, but this isn't necessary. Small broken branches are also of little concern. Just prune off any broken bits and the plant will recover quickly. The root system is the important part at this stage in the game. If you can't plant immediately on arrival store your bare roots in the cooler.The cold will delay their growth. Keep them from freezing. You can either pot them into 1 gallon pots or plant them directly into your prepared soil. Just make sure to plant them within a few days of arrival. They are waking up and are ready to grow, and they will decline quickly if they are not given soil, water and sunshine. This is a carefully orchestrated process to get plants quickly from their storage conditions to you so please do your part and be ready to plant them on arrival. There is no reason that these plants will experience any stress if you prepare for their arrival. |
| Netting / Staking | None |
| Hardiness | Hardiness Zones 3-8 (It may not flower well in coldest zones but will survive) |
| Spacing |
Space 4' apart (5' if being grown for large flowering stems). Mature height can vary depending on variety: Magical Purple = 5-6', Magical Red Fountain = 12-15', Magical Torch = 10-12' |
| Soil Preference | It is adaptable all but the wettest soil. Tolerates poor soil. Good drainage is preferred. |
| Light | Plant in full sun for best color. |
| Water | Tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including dry soils. |
| When to Plant | Spring, when the ground is workable. |
| Harvesting |
If grown for foliage or flower, late season harvest is recommended. In the early season the flowers and foliage are prone to wilting. Coppice the shrub yearly and harvest the stems after they are hardened off. Magical Purple and Magical Red Fountains: Harvest one year old stems for foliage, and two year old stems for flowers.**make sure to leave some stems if you are looking for flowers the next year, if you cut all stems for foliage one year you won't see flowers the next** Magical Torch: This cotinus flowers on new wood! Choose this variety if you are in the North and severe winters will kill the top growth. It is toted to bloom continuously. This plant is in the same family as poison ivy and contact with the resinous sap may cause contact dermatitis, especially to those sensitive to poison ivy. |
| Post Harvest Care | Harvest cuts into hot water (113-122F) and condition overnight in the cooler. If you do not harvest into hot water, add Quick Dip to your holding solution. |
| Diseases / Insects | Some susceptibility to rust, leaf spot, and verticillium wilt. |
| Bailey's Notes |
Cotinus is a dual purpose shrub. The foliage can be harvested in the first season of growth, or if left on the plant it will flower the next year with lacy flowers that give Cotinus its common name of Smoke Bush. Cotinus is probably more often grown for its foliage. Once established you can cut it to the ground each year, a technique also known as coppicing. In very cold winters it may die back to the ground but even in zone 3 it will resprout. Magical Red Fountain is especially good for its flower production. The best flowers will be grown in zones 5 and warmer (as the flowering buds may die in colder locations). They flower on the previous year's growth. |
| Resources |
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