I don't think 'Ancot' is as sun tolerant as the others.

why jump to disease???

how many times has it been frosted or frozen since leaf out..

i am in adrian MI.. exactly due east of you.. and i have barely a plant on the 5 acres.. is not.. in some way.. damaged by such this spring ... because of a late march week of 80's.. then the return to reality in regard to temps for the next month ...

any history of such??

ken

Looks like freeze damage to me. All the new growth after the late freeze is just fine.
bboy, I can't imagine any variety of Smoke Tree not being able to handle full sun, unless real young with a limited rootball, and recently transplanted.
Mike

'Ancot' is a yellow form which like yellow forms of other kinds of plants may not hold up as well under severe conditions as normal green-leaved plants of the same species. If I recall correctly the one example of 'Ancot' I tried, soon after it came on the local market burned up.

bboy's observation agrees with mine. I have two 'Ancots' and one of them I planted where it is protected from afternoon sun and it has done fine (although smaller than any of my purple or green-leaved varieties). The other I mistakenly put in too much shade, the leaves were quite green, so I read about it and everything said full sun. So I moved it to full sun. It looked pretty much like these photos - maybe even worse. After dealing with that for three summers, trying to allow it to settle in and acclimate, it got no better so I moved it AGAIN to where it is protected from afternoon sun and it is now doing well. So I think that for all that Cotinus is supposed to be fine in full sun and the literature on this one says full sun, a bit of sun protection during the hottest part of the day for 'Ancot' works better. All of my others, whether coggygria varieties, obovatus, etc, are in full sun and fine. Freeze damage could look very similar, and the fact that it is on the older leaves lends credence to that interpretation.

Thanks for the input! I will assume its either frost damage or sun damage. I will let it be for a while and see what happens. Last year was my first time ever planting anything and there is sooo much to learn!

you z8 and 9 peeps crack me up with your denial of frost/freeze issues ...

when it leafed out .. or bolted.. and the temps went back to typical MARCH WHETHER FOR THE MIDWEST .. it was colder than what you probably call winter in CA and WA ...

i am pretty sure i had at least a night or two below 20 .. and if it leafed out TWO MONTHS EARLY ... etc ...

now.. whether or not it needs some shade.. has .. IMHO.. nothing to do with spring in the midwest ..

blistering sun and heat.. in the midwest.. is more of a july/august thing.. and when your burn happens then.. is when you know its a sun or water issue ...

and i totally believe they are right on that issue ... all i question is if that had anything to do with the spring damage when the declination of the sun.. makes it weak ...

ken

Ken...do you note that I said that it looked like frost damage?

I persisted with info about the sun issue because all of the literature says that 'Ancot' should be grown in full sun and it appears that ain't so. Since the OP will encounter hot sun in summer, it is useful to note that for further success, and he sure isn't going to see it written any place else. Frost damage it will grow out of quickly...if he keeps it in full sun he'll likely pull the plant out it will persistently look so bad. The difference between a short term issue and overall success with the plant. That has nothing to do with zones.
Sara

I wasn't thinking it couldn't be cold as well, actually. And yes, the differences between zones that matter aren't the ones that keep being brought up on this site as being significant.

I'm another person concerned about a smokebush, and not sure whether I should post to this thread or start a new one, so trying the former...

We bought our house 2-1/2 years ago. It has a well-established perennial garden that the previous owner built up over eight years. Our smokebush has been fine and happy the last two summers, but has lately had more and more leaves turning brown. I understand that they're susceptible to verticilliam wilt, but from a google image search can't tell if that's a match for what I see happening. Ideas and suggestions appreciated. Thanks!

can't be freeze damage if we've not gotten a freeze.

That branch looks like it may have suffered some damage down low where it originates. Take a look.

Can you take a picture from further away?

Mike

Mine was a vibrant yellow when we brought it home. It was in full sun. I transplanted into a pot with only one hole for drainage. It started to brown on the yellow tips. I transplanted to a better draining pot, and watched as darker, greener leaves began to emerge as new growth took place. Now I'm sad. I loved the contrasting lighter yellow leaves. I'm scared to put it back in full sun, but I want to see the full extent of the plant's color palette. Suggestions?