Should I hard prune my Cotinus coggryia?

5 years ago

I have barely touched my Royal Purple smoke bush in the five years I’ve had it, because I wanted the smoke for one but also for fear of triggering the ungainly whippy growth it’s known for. I can’t stop wondering if it wouldn’t be more of a contributor if I did hard prune it and stimulated the more vibrant color foliage it’s also knowing for. Would hard pruning once unleash the wild growth and commit me to a lifetime of pruning or just a season of it? Can you be the owner of a smokebush and change your mind from year to year about whether to have smoke or vibrant color? Please help me decide..

Featured Answer

Embothrium

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

If you cut it off and then don't do it again for some years it will eventually recover its natural structure. But if the leaves you are getting aren't purple enough for you stooling the plant will not make them more so.

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Comments (9)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
if you want my thoughts.. a pic would really help ....

need to see location in relation to everything around it ...

imo .. un-named versions of these things are beasts ... and if you dont beat them back into some favorable fiorm ... they tend to have world domination goals ... so i would think.. pruning is in your future ... unless you simply have space fro said beast ...

ken

just scroll down.. and see the yard eaters .... https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=Cotinus+coggryia&iax=images&ia=images

there are dwarf versions.. but you dont mention thats what you have ... but even those can become dwarf beasts ... lol ...
kitasei2 thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
kitasei2
Original Author
5 years ago
Ken, when you say “named version,” would that include one from Home Depot bearing a tag that said Forest Purple? In about 4 years it’s grown to 4-5 feet so it may not be the biggest monster. But then again I have left it alone so far. I want to know if the hard pruning recommended for the foliage vs smoke sets me up for taking that route permanently..
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kitasei2
Original Author
5 years ago
Embo, then what’s the point of the stooling?
Embothrium
5 years ago
How it changes the structure of the plant - something which I never see as an enhancement.
kitasei2 thanked Embothrium
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 years ago
Stooling or coppicing won't change the leaf color. But it does tend to increase leaf size and can intensify the color. And it will remove the 'smoke', which I find to be a distraction, not a plus :-)
kitasei2 thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
Embothrium
5 years ago
Stooling makes it a clump of suckers. Suckers tend to grow faster - in this instance the plant would be in effect rushing to recover the original top. So there would be a tendency for young, colorful leaves to be present near the stem ends. Otherwise I don't see what would account for an impression that hard pruning would "intensify the color" - with purple plants it is usually the age of the individual leaf that determines how purple it is. And also the climate conditions of the planting site.
kitasei2 thanked Embothrium
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 years ago
It is a comment that is typically seen in the literature about these shrubs.
kitasei2 thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
Embothrium
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I cut one off I used to have, if it got generally brighter afterward I didn't pick up on this. Of course I was busy being annoyed by the appearance of flailing about the replacement shoots had every time I looked at it.
kitasei2 thanked Embothrium