Cotinus coggygria Young Lady - Smoke Bush

The Cotinus coggygria 'Young Lady', also known as the smoke bush, is a deciduous shrub with a compact growth habit. It is highly decorative with its large, feathery, pink flower heads in the summertime and its apple green foliage that gradually transforms from golden to vibrant red throughout the seasons, offering a true fireworks display in autumn. It is a hardy plant that can easily adapt to all soil types, including dry, heavy, or limestone soils.

The Cotinus coggygria, also known as the 'Smoke Tree', is a bush that belongs to the cashew family. It is native to southern Europe and Asia and grows naturally on rocky hillsides with poor soil in dry climates. The 'Young Lady' variety is a compact, rounded bush with more flowers. At full growth, it reaches a height of 1.2 m (4 ft) to 1.5 m (5ft) and a width of 1 m (4 ft). In June, Cotinus coggygria 'Young Lady' produces small yellow-green flowers in panicles with elongated stems that form a long plume of fruit covered in hairs. The flower heads then take on a slightly smoky, pale pink colour with a feathery appearance, giving this species its smoke tree name. The deciduous, oval-shaped leaves, measuring 6-8cm (2.4 - 3.1 in) in length, appear in April and are apple green. They change colour throughout the season. In autumn, the plumes and foliage take on sumptuous colours ranging from golden yellow to orange, pink, and scarlet red.

Cotinus 'Young Lady' is an easy plant to grow and thrives in well-drained, poor, light, and limestone soils. Once it's established, it can withstand drought but cannot tolerate excessive moisture in winter, especially in heavy soils. It's a great option for brightening hedges or evergreen bush beds such as boxwoods or cherry laurels, just like deciduous euonymus. You can also grow this smoke bush in a pot on a terrace or a large rock garden alongside catmints, lamb's ears, lavenders, rosemary, and shrubby salvias.