by Leslie Cox; Friday, November 7, 2014

Even at this time of year one can be blown away by the number of plant species strutting their beauty.

Autumn is all about colour in the garden, isn’t it? One plant catching my eye every time I look out the kitchen window into the back garden is our smokebush, Cotinus ‘Grace’. A thing of pure stun power with its brilliant autumn red leaves morphing into orange.

And John has placed it in the perfect spot in his landscape. Only took him about three moves, I think. But its current location between the path and pond, surrounded by a large rhododendron (forgot its name) and Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Monlo’ (known by its trademark name, Diablo)…and right where I can see its gorgeous three season foliage while washing dishes is definitely “the spot”.

Only one problem…its proximity to the path. With a spread of up to fifteen feet (4.5 metres), it will impede passage…eventually. (It is relatively slow growing, so they say.) Although this shrub requires no pruning because of its growth habit into a naturally pleasing shape, one can certainly prune to contain it within its allotted garden space. We will see how this works out and let you know.

I do know some people stool their smokebushes to either keep them small or to ensure larger leaf growth. Cutting the shrub back hard is at the expense of the lovely frothy panicles of flowers in early summer but the larger leaves are really something. John does not stool our ‘Grace’…restricting himself so far to only pruning the odd branch out. Time will tell.

One thing to keep in mind if you do stool your smokebushes, they benefit from an application of organic fertilizer and more frequent watering than is typically normal for smokebushes. All pruning should be done in late February or March…but if you are stooling the shrub, do it only every other year.

Ideally though, Cotinus spp. should be given their space in your landscape. The rewards are awesome!

Oh…and by the way…Cotinus ‘Grace’ was awarded Great Plant Pick for the Pacific Northwest in 2003. Well-earned in my opinion.

Find out a little more about this shrub under “Plants We Grow” in the “In the Garden” menu. Quick link to the page is here.