Smokebush 'Winecraft Black'

• Scientific Name: Cotinis coggygria 'Winecraft Black'
• Garden: Lawn Alternatives Garden
• Plant Type: Shrub
• Evergreen/Deciduous: Deciduous
• Sun/Shade Exposure: Full Sun
• Moisture Requirements: Moist, Well-Drained

Plant Information

Culture
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates a wide range of soils except wet, poorly-drained ones. Prefers somewhat infertile loams, but performs well in poor, rocky soils. Sharp drainage is essential. Plants have shallow fibrous root systems. If bloom is desired, prune very lightly in early spring only as needed. If bloom is not a concern, stems may be cut back hard in early spring to a framework to induce growth of vigorous new shoots with larger than normal leaves.

Cotinus coggygria, commonly known as smoketree, is an upright, loose-spreading, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub that is native from southern Europe to central China. It typically matures over time to 10-15’ tall and as wide. It gets its common name of smoketree (or smokebush) not from the tiny, insignificant, yellowish flowers which appear in branching, terminal panicles (to 6-8” long) in spring, but from the billowy hairs (attached to elongated stalks on the spent flower clusters) which turn a smokey pink to purplish pink in summer, thus covering the tree with fluffy, hazy, smoke-like puffs throughout summer. Bluish green leaves (to 3” long) are ovate to obovate. Fall color is highly variable, but at its best produces attractive shades of yellow, orange, and purplish-red.

Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Some susceptibility to leaf spot, rust and verticillium wilt.

Data Source