Looking for a Kousa Dogwood that boasts white stars set against smoky purple foliage? Well, let Nature Hills Nursery introduce you to the SmokeShow™ Kousa Dogwood!
Featuring all these incredible features and more, this new Dogwood variety is the first purple-leafed Kousa that will have you seeing stars!
SmokeShow™ is the first purple-leaved Cornus Kousa selection!
Beginning as a Cornus Kousa seedling selected in Tennessee, the SmokeShow™ Kousa Dogwood Tree-form or Shrub-form (Cornus kousa ‘HGFI65jd’) is a unique and first-of-its-kind purple-leaved Kousa Dogwood!
The elegant and well-branched structure of this fantastic new Kousa creates a dense, upright, rounded form, growing 15-20 feet in height and becoming more upright with age, spreading 12-18 feet at maturity. Able to be grown as a full shrub form with its limbs sweeping the ground, or ‘limbed up’ into a multi-trunked tree form, or as a single stem tree form plant!
Spring starts off with a flush of pointed foliage that emerges in an incredible rosy-smoky-purple hue! Soon, these crisp, clean, elongated leaves become a backdrop for the small, yet profuse display of spring blooms!
The button-like clusters of greenish-yellow true flowers attract bees and other pollinators, but the real show comes from the long-lasting, showy bracts that surround each flower! These four-pointed creamy white bracts last for weeks, even in the warm weather of late spring! These bracts feature white veins and a pinkish-purple smoky mist overlay that matches this fantastic plant's overall effect!
The smoky purple coloration intensifies and continues to be showy well into August before changing over to a dark glossy green. Once the fall chill comes on, you may see a nice rosy, purplish, and yellow fall color.
There’s no smoke with some fire, and the true flowers develop into large, bright pinkish-red, raspberry-like fruits! Appearing in the summer and persisting into fall for a showy display among the smoky foliage. Although edible for people, the fruits are probably savored more by the birds than us, but some people make jellies, jams, and wine from them!
Hardy throughout USDA growing zones 5 through 8, this deciduous ornamental flowering plant finishes the growing season by revealing the exfoliating gray bark ages brown.
Add A SmokeShow™ To Your Landscape!
Need a smoke screen to divide your property or create privacy around your outdoor garden rooms?
Kousa Dogwoods can also be grown as a larger shrub-form plant, which makes it perfect for screening, as hedges and property definition, or used as a backdrop for other landscaping beds!
SmokeShow™ Kousa Dogwood's low-branching shows off the great color, flowers, and fruit all the way to the ground. Able to be pruned smaller if needed, allowing any-sized landscape to accommodate the first-of-its-kind purple-leaved Kousa Dogwood!
The dense branching shelters and provides nesting for many songbirds! The fruit is an added autumn bonus for birds and wildlife (and us!).
These hardy and adaptable Kousa can easily be trained as a single-stem, small ornamental tree or a multi-trunked small specimen! Bringing greater diversity to the landscape! This lovely smoky-purple tree fits right into the sun garden of any size!
These tree-form specimens are the pinnacles of front and backyard accenting!
Anchor and shade garden beds and borders, or fill an unused corner of your yard in beauty! This Kousa variety will drastically upgrade your curb appeal with a front yard specimen on a raised berm so everyone can enjoy the long-lasting spring display and seasonal purple hues!
Park a garden bench or reading chair beneath the spreading canopy to create your new favorite garden nook! The unique color really shows off in mixed shrub borders, as prominent accents, and pretty backdrops!
Growing Your Own SmokeShow™!
This low-maintenance, rare Kousa purple-leaved selection exhibits improved disease resistance when properly cared for! They have their hardy native resilience and adaptability!
- Full Sun & Afternoon Shade/Part Shade
- Moist Rich Well-Drained Soil
- Appreciates Mulched Beds
- Prune Late Winter or Early Spring
The best foliage coloration comes when the plants are grown in the ground, not in containers. Plant in rich, well-drained organic soil with Nature Hills Root Booster to give your Dogwoods roots lifelong symbiotic support of mycorrhizal fungi.
Cooler growing zones will see the best color and the most flowers in full sun. In hotter climates, these deciduous plants appreciate a touch of afternoon shade. Prune to open the canopy, thin the crown a bit, maintain your plant's size, or ‘limb up’ your plant as needed. Do so when these go dormant in late fall or early winter.
Regular watering for young plants and a 3-4 inch deep layer of arborist mulch, spread out past the branches'Ch dripline, aids their tolerance of summer heat and sun. Provide supplemental water during dry spells to keep them stress-free!
Get Your Landscape Smokin’!
The gorgeous purple-leafed SmokeShow™ Kousa Dogwood has it all! It is a rare beauty that you can only get from Nature Hills!
Be the first on your block to show off this unique purple-leaved Dogwood tree or shrub!
Happy Planting!
