Purple smoketree not performing like previous smoketree

6 years ago

About a decade ago I had a smoketree that ’smoked‘ beautifully. Unfortunately it was too close to the fence and my neighbor started trimming it from her side so I cut it back by about half. I thought it would grow back. It did not. It died .

I later bought cotinus grace, which has not been a disappointment. No smoke this year. I purposely did not trim last fall because I wanted the smoke. It never came. There were flowers but not a lot.

I’m giving it one more year before I decide if I will replace it. Anyone have any recommendations on a smokebush that reliably smokes. I have no idea what the first one was.

Featured Answer

Embothrium

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

The smoke is part of the inflorescence so few flowers = not much smoke. Plant shown here is not 'Grace', you apparently were sold a misidentified specimen. One that has the smaller leaves and finer textured habit of C. coggygria. Whereas 'Grace' is half C. obovatus, shows this in its habit, leaves and flower plumes.

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
two possible reasons for no flowers ...

winter injury ... or late spring heavy frost or freeze ... how about a bigt city name ... and any info about winter/spring ..... or

lack of sexual maturity ... which would not be solved.. by planting another babe and removing this one ... and if its been there a decade ... well .. it should be fully established and mature ...

patience is the key ... not all flowering shrubs flower every year.. for a variety of reasons ...

i dont understand the pix.. the first is clearly smoking.. and in the second.. im not even sure which is the smoke tree ... the big one on the left ... is it in full sun ????

ken
Nessdizzle Formally 6a, now 9b Central Florida
6 years ago
My royal purple smokes didn’t flower last year, but they flowered this year. I think they take breaks lol...maybe when they’re going thru a growth spurt? Because my smokes are also double the size they were last year as well.
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gumneck 7A Virginia
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks everyone for the responses. Ken, we did have a very late frost - May 10, got down to 32 degrees. I remember snapping a picture of the flowers in April thinking this might be the year I get something that resembles smoke. I guess I snapped the May 13 photo wondering if this is how flowers looks when it transforms to smoke. Guess not. The tree is in full sun most of the day. It’s been there at least since 2014 according to photos. I think I‘ll start looking for another one. I will say all the gangly limb growth has started to fill in from chopping it three or four years ago.

Photo April 16

Photo May 13
Embothrium
6 years ago
How long are the leaves? It looks more like 'Grace' in these shots, although in the previous pictures - with other plants right there to provide scale, the complete aspect visible - it really does not.
gumneck 7A Virginia
Original Author
5 years ago
Looking better this year. Question - will leaves eventually grow and fill in up and down those whippy limbs?