Purple Smoke Bush Plants

Cotinus coggygria Purpureus: Pot-Grown Purple Smoke Bush Hedging Plants

Cotinus coggygria Purpureus is principally grown for its magnificent royal purple foliage. If left unclipped, it also produces clouds of flowers that give it the name Purple Smokebush. However, these aren't the main attraction; Cotinus is best cut back hard in the autumn to encourage new growth that carries the leaves with the richest colour, which means you won't see many flowers. It therefore makes a dramatic and effective clipped hedge or screening plant.

View our selection of shrub hedging or see our full range of hedging plants.

Delivery season: Smoke Bushes are delivered pot grown year round, when in stock.

Features:

• Good as screening or informal hedging.
• Cut back hard in autumn.
• New foliage is rich, royal purple.
• Max Height: 3 metres
• Pot Grown: Year round delivery

Growing Purple Smoke Bush

It looks best on fairly poor, well drained soils in full sun. Too much fertility makes the growth leggy, and it will flower less (which doesn't matter if you are clipping it).

It is hardy across the UK, RHS rating H5, but a frost pocket in the colder parts of Scotland might be too much for it. Suitable for exposed locations.

It is reasonably drought tolerant, but in an undesirable way: to conserve water in a really dry summer heat wave, it might drop its leaves, so give it a drink (once a week is plenty) in such conditions to prevent this.

It is very tough when established and can be hard pruned to ground if necessary.

Did You Know?

Also known as Ventian sumach, burning bush, and wig-tree. Formerly classified as Rhus cotinus. Native from of Southern Europe to Western China.