Smokebushes

Smokebushes - Color & Curiosity For Your Garden!

The Smokebush (or Smoketree) is a whimsical and colorful deciduous plant that will turn heads with its laundry list of curious characteristics!

Named for its dramatic display of fluffy mist-like plumes, the Smokebush will earn itself a prominent place in your heart and landscape!

About The Smokebush

The American native Smokebush (Cotinus obovatus) can be found throughout the southern states and midwestern US, and some varieties are native to southern Europe and China (Cotinus coggygria) as well!

Dramatic spring foliage emerges with a burst of color that can range from purple, to red, to blue-green and chartreuse! Then transform into equally dramatic hues for the fall that will ignite the fall landscape.

Cotinus species are multi-branched, deciduous, shrubby bushes or small trees. Ranging from dwarf forms to towering rounded specimens, Smokebush can have compact, irregular branching that is open and airy. The foliage can line the stems in bottlebrush-like form or in clumps separated by lengths of equally colorful bare stems, creating a Dr. Seuss-inspired form! When combined with the fluffy flowering display that appears at the ends of the branches - you gain a magical burst of whimsy!

Smokebush is coveted for these fluffy plumes! These late-season smoke-like blooms remain on the plants until frost and have a light scent that draws you in! Pollinators too will flock to these tiny flowers that are almost lost among their airy bracts and flower branches.

The plumes are so dense and fluffy that the plant appears in a smoky haze of color. Once pollinated, the male shrubs keep their airy plumes and female shrubs develop little seeds that the songbirds adore! Add these blooms as filler to bouquets and décor!

Gorgeous Landscape Appeal

Impressive hedges and backdrops, the largest can be trained into small tree forms that have a huge ornamental impact and boost curb appeal in your landscape!

Create outdoor garden rooms, screen in seating areas, and envelop your home with colorful property division! Children's gardens become more whimsical, plus Rock Gardens and Cottage Gardens gain curiosity all season!

Add pops of year-round color to foundations and throughout the garden as brilliant focal points anywhere in the sun to partial shade landscape.

These phenomenal smaller Smoke Bushes are perfect as container specimens on your patio, porch, or pool deck!

• American Smokebush and Cooke's Purple™ Smokebush are the largest at 20-30 feet
• Royal Purple Smokebush lights up your garden beds and borders
• Golden Spirit Smokebush displays chartreuse foliage and white mist-like plumes
• Velvet Cloak Smokebush has glossy reddish-purple foliage and a dense growth habit
• Winecraft Black® Smokebush is a dwarf shrub with dramatic dark foliage
• Dusky Maiden Smokebush may be smaller but acts as beautiful accents and hedges

Regardless of which you choose, you'll gain scented and easy-to-grow pollinator shrubs, bird-friendly food, nesting and shelter, and a unique plant that works beautifully in hedgerows, and shelterbelts, and to beef up the color spectrum of biodiverse mixed shrub border!

Easy Smokebush Care!

Cold hardy, disease and pest-resistant, and drought-tolerant, Smokebush provides incredible impact without asking for much in return!

• Full sun or partial shade - better color, denser growth, and more blooms in full sun
• Highly adaptable to many soil types, even rocky, sandy, and well-drained clay
• Withstand hot dry spots better than most shrubs
• Their foliage won't fade despite heat or sun
• Water new plants regularly using the Finger Test method
• Once established, Smokebush handle occasional drought just fine
• Smokebush grow well in a soil pH of 3.7 to 6.8
• Use a 3-4 inch layer of pine needle/pine bark mulch to maintain the acidic conditions

Order Your Smokebush Today!

Nature Hills offers several varieties of Smokebush and Smoketrees. Click the photos to learn more, or call our plant experts at (402) 934-8116.

Then get ready to reap the many rewards of these whimsical conversation pieces for your garden today!