How to Plant Smoke Trees

The smoke tree is an attention-grabbing shrub with panicles that appear as a puff of grayish pink smoke. Some popular cultivars flower in purple, but the European standard smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria) tends to have paler colored blooms and is a superb specimen for the landscape. The smoke tree should most often be planted alone, as a focal point in the landscape, so as not to overwhelm the eye. Large properties may allow for groupings of this unusual specimen. Easy to grow and adaptable to a range of soils, the smoke tree thrives in a full sun location.

Smoke tree
Shovel

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare the proper location for the smoke tree. Allow enough room for growth, the smoke tree can reach 10 to 12 feet in height and the same width.
- 2
  Prepare the planting area, making sure soil drains well and the tree will receive eight hours of sunlight daily.
- 3
  Dig the hole to the depth of the root-ball and two to three times as wide. Save the soil that dug from the hole.
- 4
  Tease out the roots gently if planting a containerized specimen. Remove any damaged or girdling roots.
- 5
  Position the tree upright in the proper position for best landscape appearance. Handle the tree by the root-ball only, not the trunk or top. The crown of the smoke tree should be even with the ground, not buried. The specimen should sit on solid ground.
- 6
  Fill the hole around the roots with the soil, gently tamping in around the roots so that no air pickets exist.
- 7
  Water in around the drip line of the smoke tree. Keep watered until the smoke tree becomes established, about a year. Once established, the smoke tree is drought resistant but will benefit from an occasional watering.
- 8
  Prune after flowering stops to maintain the shape of the smoke tree.

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