American Smoketree

Light Needs

Partial Shade to Full Sun

(At Least 3 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

15 - 20 Feet

Mature Spread

15 - 20 Feet

Growing Zones

4 to 8

American Smoketree, or Cotinus Obovatus, is a large tree that rewards its surroundings with great looking foliage, beautiful pink or purple flowers, and outstanding shelter for songbirds. This tree is an aggressive grower that is covered with cool gray foliage. In June, the tips of the branches are covered with clusters of hundreds of flower buds. Once the flowers are spent, the tree takes on a unique, fluffy, smokey appearance from the elongated stalks that once held the flowers. When fall comes, the leaves turn a vibrant red and can persist for almost a month. Once the leaves are gone, it exposes an unusual, gnarled limb structure with fish-like scales.

American Smoketree is native to the infertile, rocky mountain soils of the southern United States. It is hardy and will adapt to many adverse soil conditions. It’s a small, upright tree or shrub. depending on how it is pruned. The American Smoketree has a mature height of 15 to 20 feet. They make a great accent to a patio or as a border tree. With its thick, smokey appearance, birds love to call it home.

American Smoketree Care

American Smoketree prefers full sun and soils that are alkaline, but can tolerate partial shade and slightly acidic soil. It does not respond well to overly rich soil, over-watering, or over-fertilizing. It is drought tolerant, disease resistant, and critter defiant. Although smoke trees are drought tolerant, they do need to be watered well after planting until they are well established.

As the American Smoketree grows, its branches will begin to sag. If you would like to prune your tree to maintain a more tree-like appearance, make sure and do so after all flowering is completed. To protect your tree from drought, especially after being planted, we recommend applying a couple inches of mulch to protect the tree. Precaution should be taken when working around the bark of the tree. It  can be easily damaged from grass trimmers or sharp objects.

American Smoketree Spacing

The American Smoketree will grow outward to be moderately wide. When planting next to a patio or sidewalk, plan accordingly. If you plant multiple trees in a row next to each other, space them out 20 to 25 feet.