Smokebush 'Royal Purple'
Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' · Anacardiaceae Popular
Rounded leaves of deep wine purple all season, turning scarlet in autumn, with hazy, smoke-like plumes of pinkish flower stalks in summer.
- Size
- 11½ ft tall, 11½ ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early June to late July
- Pets
- Toxic to people
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around smokebush 'Royal Purple'
The planner designed this bed around smokebush 'Royal Purple' 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 'Royal Purple' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Smokebush 'Royal Purple' × 1, pink
- 2 Winter heath × 24, white
- 3 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 8, purple
- 4 Blue holly × 1, blue-green leaves
- 5 False sunflower × 5, yellow
- 6 Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' × 4, tan
- 7 Swamp milkweed × 8, pink
- 8 Meadow sage × 3, blue
- 9 Ohio spiderwort × 16, blue
- 10 Boxwood 'Green Gem' × 3, dark green leaves
- 11 Eastern bee balm × 11, pink
- 12 Purple milkweed × 8, purple
- 13 Asiatic lily × 7, yellow
- 14 Orienpet lily × 3, yellow
- 15 Spring starflower × 29, blue
Why this plant
- The only plumes. The others are bells, dense clusters, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 11½ 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 swamp milkweed (4 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 8 weeks. From early June to late July.
- Fills no gap. Every week it is in flower, at least four other kinds are too. It thickens a season that is already full.
Planned as an English border: 19 of the 20 groups (95%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The longest in flower is verbena 'Homestead Purple': 21 weeks, from mid May to early October. Winter heath is planted in six places along the bed, which gives it rhythm.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 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 'Royal Purple' goes in a border
At 11½ 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.
The best large purple-leaved shrub. Cut it back hard each spring and it stays head high with bigger, darker leaves, though without the smoke. Pink, silver and orange all look stronger against it.
- Dark purple foliage on a large scale
- A backdrop for hot or pastel colours
- Autumn colour
What to plant with smokebush 'Royal Purple'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Russian sage: in flower together for three weeks, from mid July; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for five weeks, from late June; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
Choosing between it and a look-alike? Ninebark 'Diabolo' vs Smokebush 'Royal Purple'.
Questions about smokebush 'Royal Purple'
Does smokebush 'Royal Purple' need sun or shade?
Smokebush 'Royal Purple' 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. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does smokebush 'Royal Purple' 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 'Royal Purple' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early June to late July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Early June to late July |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Early June to late July |
| Zone 7 | Late May to mid July |
| Zone 8 | Late May to mid 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 'Royal Purple' be planted?
8 ft (250 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 11½ ft (350 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many smokebush 'Royal Purple' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 8 ft (250 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 8 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is smokebush 'Royal Purple' poisonous?
Yes: mild toxicity to people. The sap can irritate skin and eyes.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a native plant like smokebush 'Royal Purple'?
Smokebush 'Royal Purple' comes from S. Central Europe to China. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- American elderberry: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not pink, wants moist soil.
- American beautyberry: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 5½ ft shorter, 3½ ft narrower.
- Carolina allspice: the same job in a bed; 3½ ft shorter, 20 in narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat smokebush 'Royal Purple'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after smokebush 'Royal Purple'?
Smokebush 'Royal Purple' is over by late July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Panicle hydrangea 'Limelight': from mid July to early October, 7 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Hardy hibiscus: from late July to mid September, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Switchgrass 'Northwind': from early August to early October, 5½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does smokebush 'Royal Purple' look like in winter?
Smokebush 'Royal Purple' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is smokebush 'Royal Purple' good for bees and butterflies?
Smokebush 'Royal Purple' is visited by butterflies.
More Cotinus
- Smokebush 'Golden Spirit' Cotinus coggygria 'Ancot' (Golden Spirit)
- Smokebush 'Grace' Cotinus 'Grace'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 11½ ft (350 cm) tall, 11½ ft (350 cm) wide
- Plant
- 8 ft (250 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early June to late July; feathery plumes; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; purple
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Anacardiaceae
- Comes from
- S. Central Europe to China
- Attracts
- Butterflies
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.