American Smoketree Cotinus obovatus

Detailed Listing For

Botanical Name:

Cotinus obovatus

Family:

Anacardiaceae

Genus:

Cotinus

Species:

obovatus

Common Name:

American Smoketree

Height:

20 to 30 feet

Minimum Hardiness Zone:

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Cotinus obovatus

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Characteristics

Likes Lime In Soil

Growing Info, follow in order:

Scarification: Soak in hot tap water, let stand in water for 12 hours.

Stratification: cold stratify for 150 days.

Germination: sow seed 1/8" deep , tamp the soil, keep moist, mulch the seed bed, , can be sown outdoors in the fall for spring germination.

Other: if boiling water treatment does not allow seed to imbibe, sulfuric acid treatment is required.

In a Nutshell:

* American smoketree is a small, deciduous, rounded, Missouri native tree or large, upright shrub typically growing 20-30' tall and occurring on limestone glades, rocky limestone bluffs and bald knobs in the area of the White River in southeast Missouri. Smoketree gets its common name not from the 6-10" flower clusters (tiny, insignificant, dioecious, yellowish-green flowers) which bloom in June, but from the billowy hairs (attached to elongated stalks on the spent flower clusters) which turn a smoky pink to purplish pink in summer, thus covering the tree with fluffy, hazy, smoke-like puffs. Bluish green leaves are, as the species name suggests, obovate. Foliage turns a variety of colors in the fall (including yellow, red, orange and reddish purple), and produces some of the best fall color of any of the native American trees and shrubs.

* A tree or large shrub, "may be the best of all American shrub trees for intensity of [fall] color" (Dirr), which is yellow, orange, and reddish purple, gray or gray-brown bark, likes lime, native to southeast U.S. more...

* Tolerates most soils. Prefers a well-drained soil in a sunny position, doing better in a soil that is not very rich. Tolerates light shade. Plants are hardy to about -15°c, though die-back often occurs at the tips of shoots during the winter.

* A very ornamental plant. The young leaves have an aromatic fragrance when bruised.

* This species is in danger of extinction in the wild due to its being cut down for use in making a dye, this occurred especially during the N. American civil war. more...

* Best when massed or grouped in the shrub border. Long-lasting, summer "smoke" display makes this a striking accent plant. more...

* Native to rocky, usually mountain soils from Kentucky, Tennessee, and northern Alabama west to Oklahoma, with disjunct populations in a few counties of central Texas, Cotinus obovatus is an outstanding small, ornamental tree. Its bark is decorative, its leaves are soothing blue-green in spring and summer and flaming oranges and reds in fall, and its flowers form ethereal clouds of pink and purple in spring. more...

Usda description:

More info on http://plants.usda.gov

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American Smoketree Cotinus obovatus

Cotinus obovatus

Anacardiaceae

Cotinus

obovatus

American Smoketree

Cotinus obovatus

Specimen Tree

Wildlife Food

Drought Tolerant Plant

Flowering Shrub

Flowering Tree

Heat Tolerant

Fall Color

High PH

Plant with Fast Growth

Likes Lime In Soil