Smoke signals
If you want something different in your garden the ‘Smoke Bush’ is a great option, writes David Overend.
Focus is an important part of gardening – it helps stop things from getting out of control; it encourages planning, preparation and well-considered thought; it can mean the difference between success and failure. But, occasionally, it is possible to lose focus in the garden, particularly when looking at the well-named ‘Smoke Bush’, aka Cotinus coggygria, which is an easyto-grow shrub with absolutely glorious, beetroot-coloured, rounded leaves, produced in whorls around the stem.
The leaves appear almost translucent on a sunny day, and change to marvellous copper tones by the autumn.
Any budding gardener should be happy to include at least one specimen of the ‘Smoke Bush’ in their planting, if only to provide a mid-summer show of fuzzy flowers which are impossible to keep in focus.
Apart from being such a wonderfullyunusual shrub, Cotinus is also pretty easy to care for, is relatively undemanding and quite long-lived. Sadly, it is deciduous, but the autumn leaves do turn to gold.
Once upon a time it was called Rhus cotinus, and it became popular as an important member of a well-stocked mixed border. Sadly, it seems to have gone out of fashion, partly because gardens have grown smaller and a ‘Smoke Tree’ can eventually reach a height and width of 20ft or more.
However, anyone with the space to grow one should consider doing so – particularly the purple-leaved C c ‘Royal Purple’, whose smoky flowers are backed by winecoloured foliage that turns an even deeper red as autumn progresses.
This is a shrub that will grow in just about any decent soil but it does have a preference for a light loam and a site well served by the sun, although it will still grow happily in semi-shade.
Another plus is that Cotinus coggygria needs little pruning; any unwanted or damaged branches can be cut out in spring.
Sadly, propagation is not quite as simple – taking hardwood cuttings does not automatically guarantee success. The only sure way of producing a new shrub is to search for rooted suckers at the base of the parent plant (the Rhus family is renowned for suckering) and then simply remove them (with their roots intact) and replant them.