Smokebush 'Grace'
Cotinus 'Grace' · Anacardiaceae
Large, rounded leaves that open wine red, turn blue-green flushed with plum, and blaze orange and scarlet in autumn; huge, pink, smoky plumes in summer.
- Size
- 13 ft tall, 11½ ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid June to mid July
- Pets
- Toxic to people
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around smokebush 'Grace'
The planner designed this bed around smokebush 'Grace' when this page was made: a 30 × 14 ft (9.1 × 4.3 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why smokebush 'Grace' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Smokebush 'Grace' × 1, pink
- 2 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 7, purple
- 3 Candytuft × 11, white
- 4 Dwarf Alberta spruce × 1, green leaves
- 5 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 3, purple
- 6 Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' × 3, tan
- 7 False sunflower × 4, yellow
- 8 White mugwort × 3, cream
- 9 Hyssop 'Blue Fortune' × 8, lavender
- 10 Ohio spiderwort × 14, blue
- 11 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 12 Lowbush blueberry × 24, white
- 13 Butterfly weed × 8, orange
- 14 Asiatic lily × 6, yellow
- 15 Persian fritillary × 7, purple
- 16 Tulip × 16, red
Why this plant
- The only pink.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 13 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' (5 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From mid June to mid July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With verbena 'Homestead Purple', false sunflower, hyssop 'Blue Fortune' and others in early July: 7 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 21 of the 21 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Among the neighbours here are four pairs of recognised partners, such as butterfly weed and ohio spiderwort. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 47 to 53, left to right.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where smokebush 'Grace' goes in a border
At 13 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A vigorous hybrid of the European and American smoke trees, with the best autumn colour of any. Cut it hard each spring for bigger leaves on a smaller plant, at the cost of the smoke.
- Autumn colour
- A large specimen at the back
- Coppicing for bold foliage
What to plant with smokebush 'Grace'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Switchgrass 'Northwind': takes over when it finishes, flowering from early August; fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (5½ ft) to stand in front of it.
- Russian sage: fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for three weeks, from late June; medium leaves against its bold ones; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about smokebush 'Grace'
Does smokebush 'Grace' need sun or shade?
Smokebush 'Grace' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does smokebush 'Grace' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does smokebush 'Grace' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to mid July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Mid June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 7 | Early June to early July |
| Zone 8 | Early June to early July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should smokebush 'Grace' be planted?
10 ft (300 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 11½ ft (350 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 13 ft (400 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many smokebush 'Grace' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 10 ft (300 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 10 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is smokebush 'Grace' poisonous?
Yes: mild toxicity to people. The sap can irritate skin and eyes.
Is there a native plant like smokebush 'Grace'?
Smokebush 'Grace' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Elderberry 'Black Beauty': the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 5 ft shorter, 4 ft narrower.
- Virginia rose: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 8 ft shorter, 6 ft narrower.
- Oceanspray: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 3½ ft shorter, 3½ ft narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after smokebush 'Grace'?
Smokebush 'Grace' is over by mid July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Switchgrass 'Northwind': from early August to early October, 5½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Russian sage: from mid July to mid September, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Rose of Sharon: from mid July to mid September, 10 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does smokebush 'Grace' look like in winter?
Smokebush 'Grace' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Cotinus
- Smokebush 'Golden Spirit' Cotinus coggygria 'Ancot' (Golden Spirit)
- Smokebush 'Royal Purple' Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 13 ft (400 cm) tall, 11½ ft (350 cm) wide
- Plant
- 10 ft (300 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid June to mid July; feathery plumes; pink
- Leaves
- Bold texture, deciduous; red, blue-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Anacardiaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.