Smokebush
Cotinus coggygria
Family Anacardiaceae
Smokebush offers a choice of spectacles: let it grow and summer wraps it in ethereal pink 'smoke', flower plumes like drifting haze; keep it low and it becomes a fountain of huge purple or gold leaves instead. Either way it ends the year in brilliant fall color.
It thrives on the lean, dry, sunny sites that intensify its color, growing fast to ten or fifteen feet if allowed, drawing butterflies to the plumes. Few shrubs give a garden this much drama per square foot — claim a sunny corner and decide which show you want.
Full Sun
Low water
Fast growth
Attracts butterflies
From the print shop
Growing smokebush? Hang it.
Our Plant Library collection carries smokebush — Cotinus coggygria, print Nº 435, “Smokebush.”
526 designsfrom $12.99white or black backgroundmatte poster, unframed
Will it thrive where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what smokebush actually needs.
Hardy inZones 4-8Smokebush · Common problems
Common smokebush problems
Pests
1 problem on file
- Almost none
Diseases
2 problems on file
- Verticillium Wilt (occasional)
- Verticillium Wilt
Smokebush · Growing & propagation
Growing smokebush
- Light
- Full Sun
Best foliage color
- Water
- Low
Drought-tough
Soil- Any well-drained
Lean is fine · pH 6.0 - 7.5
Fertilizer- None
Rich soil dilutes color
Pruning- Late Winter
Two options — GROW IT TWO WAYS: leave it for the smoky flower plumes, OR coppice it hard each spring for giant, intensely colored leaves (no flowers, but knockout foliage).
Spacing- 10-12 ft
How to plant & propagate smokebush
- Propagate
- Seed (stratify), cuttings, or layering
Smokebush · Calculators & field guides
A little help in the garden.
Smokebush · Yearly calendar
The smokebush year, month by month
Jan
No calendar activity is listed for this month.
BloomPruneBloomJune
PruneFebruary to March
What each band means
- Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
- Prune — shape it now — cuts heal cleanly and structure is visible.
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
Smokebush · Ecology & uses
Ecology & uses
Cotinus coggygria
Smokebush in the garden system
- Shrub layer shrub
- Attracts
- Butterflies
Moisture- Upland / dry
Deer- Browsed
Protect young plants
Origin- Introduced
What smokebush is grown for
! Some parts toxic — see notesMildly toxic if eaten; sap can irritate
Use- Foliage drama
- Use
- Smoke plumes
- Use
- Specimen
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
Smokebush · Varieties & cultivars
Choosing a smokebush variety
'Royal Purple' (deep wine); 'Grace' (large); 'Golden Spirit' (chartreuse); 'Winecraft Black'
Sources & plant identity
Know what you’re growing.
See where the knowledge comes from.
Smokebush
Cotinus coggygria
The plant, at a glance.
- Botanical name
- Cotinus coggygria
- Plant family
- Anacardiaceae
- Growth habit
- Shrub · Perennial
- Origin
- Introduced
- USDA plant symbol
- COCO10
- Invasive risk
- Low
Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.
Rooted in research.
University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.
for Smokebush
Research from these sources
Publisher marks identify sources, not sponsorship or endorsement.
Questions
Smokebush questions, answered straight.
Is smokebush safe for kids and pets?
With care. Mildly toxic if eaten; sap can irritate Site it accordingly if children or pets roam the garden. This is general reference, not medical or veterinary advice — call a vet or poison control if something has actually been eaten.
How do you propagate smokebush?
Seed (stratify), cuttings, or layering.
Elsewhere
Where smokebush sits in the library.
Rose
Hydrangea
Common Lilac
Forsythia