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Cotinus 'Grace' |
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| | Translucent in the early-morning May sun |
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| | The 'smoke' |
| Common name |
smoketree |
| Family |
anacardiaceae |
| Life cycle |
shrub/tree (Z4-8) |
| Flowers |
pink-purple (summer) |
| Size |
10-20' |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
| Cultural notes |
drought-tolerant |
Hybrid between C. coggyria and C. obovatus, grown primarily for its smoky sprays of pinkish-purple flowers. Rose-tinted leaves, especially in spring and autumn. We hope this one will be more of an asset than a plain-jane C. coggyria we grew for a while - that one never bloomed, and developed a scraggly habit. It went to compost. So far, 'Grace' has provided more bang for the buck, even though it completely died back to the ground a couple of winters.
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| | A rather different look in bright mid-day sun |
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| | In spring 2011, it looked like 'Grace' was not going to return – and when it did with a few low branches, they had to emerge through a thicket of Digitalis lutea. Which made for quite a cool effect. |
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| | Hidden among the "smoke" are some shiny tan seeds |
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| | Silly thing. Emerging from nothing in spring, one single shoot looks like an awkward teenager, reaching a height of about 10 feet, while the rest of its branches go no higher than 5 feet or so. |
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| Most years, I cut it back hard, to about a foot from the ground, and wait to see which stems will decide to come back alive (some invariably are lifeless). Sometime in early spring, the dark purple buds start emerging on the ones that want to give it another go – and it won't be long before the whole thing regains its mass of leaves.
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Cotinus 'Grace'
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Sue | Apr 16, 2011 | I picked one up at a plant sale. How would it look next to my acer palmatum viridis?
Interestingly, I have mine planted not too far from an Acer palmatum (Shishigashira) - but I haven't paid too much attention to the interplay between the two, because the acer is still small. The difference in foliage texture and color makes for an interesting contrast, anyways. |
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