Still dormant.

That's my vote since the one I planted last fall is in exactly the shape yours is in, tip die-back and all. Below the tip die-back, the twiggy wood on mine remains flexible and I have convinced myself that the buds have swelled ever so slightly since I first despaired in late February. If I'm wrong, we can always schedule a pity party in April. I'll certainly want one.

Mine are quite dormant too. I have four of them and every year I think I have lost them for what ever reason but I cut them back and they eventually reward me with lots of beautiful new growth. Patience......:)

Well, that's encouraging. Thanks!

I just got two bare root plants from Swansons. They assured me that they were dormant and healthy...but I have to say...they sure look dead. Anyway, they're in the ground. We'll see what happens.

Dormant deciduous plants do look pretty lifeless - that's just their nature. Cotinus is relatively late to break dormancy - with the weather we've been having, I wouldn't expect to see buds until well into next month.

This is an old post, but it helped my understand my slow poke Smoke Bush(s). Like above, I had a nice newly planted bush(s) last fall, they looked like sure winners for spring. Well, it now the middle April and I just stating to see red shoot out of the bottom of the bush( Yea! they not dead). So, new the question is how fast can this grow if shoot are just coming out of the bottom? Not too sure on the 4' height I was expecting.

These get a lot taller than 4'. New shoots can sometimes grow several feet in one summer.

Blight problems can cause dieback or failure to leaf out.

Hi there,
I have a similar question...years later ;)
I bought a gorgeous 2' tall Golden Spirit that I planted on a slope which gets watered 2x/day for about 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure it's getting enough water, yet it looks like it's dying! The beautiful chartreuse leaves have shriviled up and the whole bush looks dead. I transplanted it to a place on the slope with support (boulders) so that it can get more water, but it's not coming back to life. Is this typical of smoke bushes? This is my first and this all happened within a month of buying/planting it. I'm so bummed :( but I'm trying to stay positive after reading this thread! Any feedback would be appreciated! To note, we've had weird weather this past month; 30 degree nights for a week, and now we're up to 97 degree days with lows only at the high 70s.

I would not consider that typical but we need bit more information to determine exactly what the problem may be. First, where are you? When was the shrub planted and when was it transplanted? And how is it being watered - pop-up irrigation, soaker hose, drip?

Golden Spirit can look really peaked in full sun and less than adequate water, especially if recently planted/transplanted. But there are other issues that can cause problems as well.

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm in Minnesota, zone 4a. It is getting full sun all day, and the water comes from an underground irrigation system that sprays from the top of the slope. The boulders I planted it by are soaked when the irrigation cycle is done, but I dont know how much water the plant has actually received. I need to go out there after a sprinkling some day and test it. I'm suspicious that the slope isnt getting as much water as I'd like as the sprinklers may be spraying over it. The other plants on the slope look ok, though.

It was planted about six weeks ago, and I transplated it two weeks ago after noticing it looked bad. I havent done a bark test yet. I've given it several good soaks but it hasnt changed it's appearance. Such a bummer! I have a purple smoke bush coming from bare root dormant stage that looks better! :(
Does that help?

Yes, that helps a lot :-) Midsummer planting and transplanting in your area is very likely to result in transplant shock, which can produce an appearance much as you describe. Time and adequate water is the only remedy and no guarantees even then :-) By all means check to see that the rootball is getting enough water - the soil should be evenly moist all the way to the base of the rootball. The sprinkler may not be getting the water properly down to that depth.

just so you know, the smokebush is going to be only marginally hardy in your climate.

gets watered 2x/day for about 30 minutes.

****************************************
Too much water. !!!
One 2 gallons of water, twice weekly, should be more than enough. The need to keep the soil moist. Trees do not drink water, the absorb moisture. Excess water is going to keep the soil soggy and also possibly will take the nutrient away(leaching).

Sorry but with the information given, it is impossible to say exactly how much water the shrub is receiving. If by a pop-up irrigation system, as much as 80% of the water can be lost to evaporation before it even reaches the soil. This could place the plant in rather acute drought stress! Second, there is no real information on soil condition, which is also a huge factor in how often one needs to water and the necessary duration of the irrigation period.

Finally plants that were recently planted - or transplanted - in the heat of midsummer need a lot more water than those already established.

Stating the plant is receiving too much water based on the info given is just a WAG and not supported by what we DO know.

Yeah, these pop up sprinklers are not really good at getting water to the root ball, especially on the steep slopes where water may be shooting on top/over the plant. My guess is that it just didnt get enough water and with the transplant and wild variations of temps.... I'm bummed, but not too much now that I know that my zone may not support it anyway. I have a spirea next to it that is looking a bit parched too, so I think they're drying up. Need to adjust that. Thank you so much for your input everyone!

Hi i

t is May 27th 2019. I am in zone 4B or 5. The bottom of my purple smoke bush has leafed up maybe a foot from the ground but everything else is nothing. Any comment one way or the other whether it's dead or still in dormancy? We have had an inordinate amount of rain here this spring

Sorry for the delay in responding but that's what happens when you post a new questions to old, stale threads......they tend to get overlooked :-)

Since smokebush is of marginal hardiness in your zone, I'd suspect the top portion has had died off with winter cold. But since these shrubs are often hard pruned or coppiced to maintain size or emphasize foliar growth, cutting back to just below the dead portion should stimulate some healthy new growth. Just don't expect much "smoke" this season :-)