Standard Cotinus Royal Purple
Standard Cotinus Royal Purple, will you have success with this unusual shrub in Aberdeen?
Well we have tried it, again and again and again. We were always very keen on the colour of the foliage, which offers a really good contrast to all the shades of green in the garden.
Cotinus Royal Purple would usually come through the first Winter. The tiny red leaf buds were very reluctant to open in Spring, however in the third week of May sign of life would start to appear.
By the time Summer was coming to an end it was always evident that this shrub was simply not giving of its best, and by the following Spring more often than not the brittle stems were clearly dead, occasionally offering a little fresh growth from the base We finally decided to give up on Cotinus Royal Purple.
A couple of years ago Myra spotted standard forms of this plant for sale from J Parkers mail order, we decided to give it one more try. They no longer have this standard form in stock, may come back later. Below I have added a link to another company selling this standard form although it appears to be much shorter than the one which we purchased from Parkers.
Problem solved, this plant looks great placed in an area where it can be seen from the kitchen window. It was potted up in a decent sized container with grit covering the compost, at last,a red leafed Cotinus which looks good in the garden for over seven months of the year. As soon as November comes in I place it in the unheated greenhouse and next April I will place it where I think it will look best, perhaps next year another position will be found for this terrific plant.
The common name for Cotinus is, Smoke Bush due to the purplish/pink blooms which appear in July/August looking like, well, puffs of smoke I suppose.
However if you are living in Aberdeen and these blooms appear on your plant, I want to see it.. To be quite honest, its not very likely to happen in our climate although if you are in a very sheltered position you may have managed to have more success with Cotinus than I have. I am pleased with my container plant though.
Hardiness — Hardy, very borderline in Aberdeen
Position — Full sun
Care — Tidy up by cutting back any dead branches in early Spring.
*** Cotinus royal purple – buy now – bush type ***
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Guest Posts
Every week I receive emails asking if I would like to have a (guest post) on my blog, I expect you get the same thing. As a rule I get back to the sender and explain that this is a personal blog and I didn’t think it appropriate. On this occasion it got the better of me. I carried out some google searches for some information. I mean, I can see the point as far as the author of the article is concerned, most likely they want a link advertising a product and have likely been paid for the privilege of it being on my site.
However I had been thinking, what’s in it for those who decide to accept this request, its not like I was being offered to have my blog linked. Well my google search seems to show many positives to the idea, suggesting that such activity could raise the profile of ones blog. I don’t pretend to fully understand how this comes about. Anyway I have given permission for Sam Luther, gardening blog writer, to be the first and maybe last to have this honour, if I had received more information of your gardening exploits or blog I would have linked directly to you Sam as I was very taken with your writing skill.
. I have to say I felt encouraged to accept this guest post when I saw that the advert contained in the article was directed to (Crowders) a mail order company where I had just recently purchased six Hardy Geraniums Max Frei from several weeks ago, fabulous plants and so very well packed.
Sams post is all about Winter gardening tips. There are lots of young and not so young folks out there having just caught the gardening bug who I am sure will take pleasure in advice such as this, over to you Sam.
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Winter gardening tips to get a start on spring and summer.
There are moments when you look outside during winter and wish desperately for the warmth of summer. But don’t fret. Turn that frown upside down and make winter the season of preparing for a long relaxing summer.
February and March often provide days with mild weather that are perfect for comfortably working outside in the garden. Even if the weather is still a bit dodgy in your area, you can begin with pruning your plants one weekend and raking and mulching the following weekend. Once your basics are finished, it’s time to begin new projects.
These winter gardening chores are the first steps to making a relaxing summer, when you can finally sit back in your dream chair, and take in your surroundings!
Turn the shrubbery and tree lines into something of beauty with light pruning during the winter, while there are no leaves on the trees and you’re able to see more clearly a plant’s branching structure. Prune any branches which are crisscrossed or are growing inward toward the trunk of the tree or shrub. Any upward pointing branches on a weeping plant should also be removed. When pruning, make your cuts slightly above the branch collar.
- Check on your evergreen shrubs after snowstorms and shake off the snow to prevent any lasting damage.
- How about recycling your Christmas tree for mulch? You’ll only throw it away otherwise.
- Don’t forget to feed the birds, and give them some unfrozen water as well as seeds and nuts.
- Remember to sharpen your tools so you’ll be ready to get to work when the ground thaws.
- Mulch your perennials and win the fight against weeds before they have the chance to infiltrate the rest of your garden.
- Sketch your new garden ideas for the landscape and start building.
It sounds easy when you really think about it, and it is. Gardening can be very time consuming in the spring and summer, and everyone wants to enjoy the beautiful warm weather doing other activities – not worrying about the landscape! A little planning ahead and a few days of clean-up work and prepping can make gardening so much easier for the growing season.
A few planning tips for your garden can be as simple as:
- Building a raised bed for annuals or vegetable planting.
- Drawing out a new plan for plant placement. Jotting down ideas for new plants to add in.
- Starting your own compost.
- Protecting animal attracting plants with wire cages.
- Wrapping thin bark trees which are susceptible to cold weather damage.
- Protecting evergreens from winter burn.
After you have protected delicate plants against the worse part of winter and the early spring temperature fluctuations, and have a plan for your garden design, it’s time to put everything into action. There’s no doubt that this will be an achievement you will be proud of and, when spring hits, you can relax knowing that your garden is in great shape.
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Well that was the end of today’s post, however I couldn’t resist this one shot by Myra in early October on a beautiful sunny morning.
If you happen to leave a comment I will be sure to visit your site and do the same
Thanks Rena, I will check out the Azalea and get back to you.
Wow, what a garden.Its really beautiful. it must take a lot of hard work to keep it that way. I live in Stockton ~on~Tees, and came upon your website by chance I have a relatively small garden 25×8 meters. and have clematice, roses, grannies bonnets.hellibores and other shade loving plants.I love your azelea Glowing embers.I`ve not seen the colour before.Do you know a website I could get it from?
Thank you for shareing your garden. Rena.
Laura, I am jealous, your closeness to the sea probably means that you have less frost than us. Aberdeen of course is a seaside City, however we are inland a little and our garden is situated in a frost pocket. Our Daughter and Grandson lives in East Wemyss. please visit again sometime.
I have a large and happy cotinus in Fife. There’s nothing between it and the east wind straight off the North Sea. My more knowledgeable friend was amazed that it was so happy. It will flower, but I usually cut it right back in Spring, otherwise I lose my sea view. It’s so happy that I planted another Cotinus – a small green version called Young Lady. It looked very sad for about a year, but this year has picked up. It is currently in fantastic range of yellow, orange and red colours.
Here smoke bushes are called smoke trees and have no trouble surviving (and spreading and spreading). I hope yours will continue doing well in a pot.
Thanks Astrid, I think Myra will be giving me photography tips.
Hi Alistair
Glad you gave the purple cotinus one more chance! And as a standard – what a great idea! That colour of purple serves so well in the garden but is difficult to find. Cotinus is a very large bush and this is a great solution. Bravo!
Also love love love Myra’s shot of the garden in soft filtered light.
I also am fond of the leaf colour Carolyn. When planted directly in the garden I would cut them back hard and sometimes not quite so severe. Made no difference, they clearly required a little more heat in the sunshine to get going.
Thanks for your suggestions Sunil, I really don’t think that the problem is down to the Winter conditions, the rainfall in the North East coast is lower than many parts of the UK and being on the coast its also less frosty than you may expect. June and July in these parts often have many days which are very cool and although the plant may have survived Winter it just cant get itself going in Summer. Cotinus are very adaptable to soil condition.
Hi Alistair, I know it’s not going to help, but we do see Cotinus fairly often around here (Cambridgeshire). Some are pretty large so it’s going to be down to the colder and wetter winters that you have. Having said that, do you know if they have any particular soil preference? We’re on chalk here so can be very alkaline. Perhaps cosying them up and giving them the soil type they prefer might increase your chances? I don’t know if they get hardier with age (probably, as they get used to it).
I love the color of smokebush leaves, so vibrant. Here we cut them all the way back in the spring so they will produce deep colored foliage for the season. They grow back to full size in one season but you don’t get the flowers.
Esther, I think you could make good use of contrasting leaf colour. I am just off to daydream of raised borders which I haven’t any need for.
Trying to persuade myself that dark leaved plants aren’t right for my garden but those purple ones are lovely.
re. the guest post – not sure I’d include raised beds in a simple tasks list! Daydreaming of what I’d like to plant . . . do . . . I’m quite good at that.
Hi Rick Nelson, taken me back to the early 60s that did. Anyway thanks for the information on how Cotinus behaves in your part of the world. We are a good bit further north, the Winters on the coast here are probably not much colder than where you are although I still think that the Summer chill in these coasts are my biggest problem with Cotinus however find the right spot and it wouldn’t surprise me to hear of other gardeners in my part of the country having success. No success with Cotinus, but check how I got on with Abutilon x suntense normally seen as being more tender. https://www.aberdeengardening.co.uk/diary/2010/11/10/abutilon-x-suntense/
Well,. you know what its like, although I am struggling to find room in the greenhouse to over winter borderline plants.
You are ONE DETERMINED GARDENER! Sometimes problems lead to the very best solutions. I love the colour of your bench combined with the Cotinus. Inspiring!
In the North West of England I grow both Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ and Cotinus coggygria ‘Grace’, although the former does not flower, mainly because I feel it is not in the right spot and is somewhat overshadowed,’Grace’ is a wonderful shrub which unfortunately produces massive amounts of rather lax growth which needs cutting back even during the growing season.The end result being that it also does not flower. I have found that if it is cut back very hard and allowed a full seasons growth it will flower the next year and give the full ‘smoke-bush’ effect. The alternative is to cut back as little as possible of the “wild” growth so that at least some of the flowers are produced. Although I have hardiness problems with many plants mainly due to wet winters, both Cotinus cultivars have come through the most recent severe winters at -15°.
I can see why it would be puzzling Jennifer. Just like most Magnolias struggle in the North East of Scotland. I suspect it is not the cold winter that is the problem but the very cool Summers which we have. I have seen cotinus in the city over here but very seldom.
I am curious that you had such a tough time with your Cotinus Royal Purple. It is a common shrub here and we have much tougher, longer winters than you do. Anyway, the standard looks super as you have placed it in the garden. I have always loved the foliage on this plant. Compliments to Myra on her photograph!
Do you think I should b-a-g? well perhaps, if she carries it into the greenhouse for Winter I will thank her.
Hi Debs, thanks for the visit, and I see, someone else who thinks Myra is a cat.
Hi Debs, thanks for the visit, and I see, someone else who thinks Myra is a cat.
I too like the last shot, so tranquil looking. The Cotinus looks well sited, nice specimen plant.
Your standard Cotinus looks fabulous in the spot you have placed it! I love the way its dark purple foliage coordinates with the other plants and also the bench. I hope it does well for you. I would be greatly tempted by this plant as well if I could get the standard form and then put the pot wherever I wanted. I also really like the photo of Myra. I hope you are having a great week!
Hi Alastair – Did you give Myra the credit for the eventual success with the continus? It’s the circular leaves that I like, as well as the colour.
Hi Linnie, some plants just don’t lend themselves to be grown on a stem, I think Cotinus is fine. I did see a Rhododendron in the garden centre grown this way (just wrong) I think purdee is the closest one would get to a posing cat.
Helene, we would like to have so many more plants, however we are also getting stuck for space. I suspect the Loropetalum chinense would not be hardy enough so far north, perhaps yet another plant for a container.
You would struggle with the cold here Andrea, I do have to take care what I say on the comments of other peoples blogs, have a bad habit of maybe being to personal for some peoples tastes, but I suspect you are thick skinned like myself. (see what I mean.)
Hi Alistair, i looked at your sidebar temps and it really is cold most especially for us who are not cold acclimatized, haha! Your purple plant is very lovely, we have counterpart color here but small elongated leaves. And that shot by Myra is so homely and inviting, because of the cute cat on the pedestal, good place to sunbathe!
By the way, i laughed loudly with your comment in mine, a lovely punchline for my post.
Alistair, I’d love to have a Cotinus, but in my tiny garden I have no idea where to put it…it’s already filled to the rafter! Instead I bought a Loropetalum chinense which takes 25 years to reach full size, I even intend to slow it down a bit by keeping it in a tub for years to come.
Loved the photo with the cat, aren’t they serene when they sit like that 🙂
I’ve never seen a cotinus on a standard stem like that, only shrubs, which are often immense here in western Oregon. The misty blooms are singular, and I do have one finally getting going in my garden. (Since I have entered my Foliage Period I am quite appreciative of the leaf color.) Your October garden is better than most June gardens Alistair. There is no posing cats so Myra must have been quick with that great photo.
Thank you so much!
Frances, I think in a sheltered spot Cotinus would do fine in your garden, in fact I have seen them here, but our garden is in a hollow making it seriously frosty. Purdee is sitting very carefully on the sun dial which is looking very squint.
Ha, ha, that is so funny. But seriously, how did you guys find out Myra looked so lovely. You should have seen her forty odd years ago, drop dead gorgeous.
Tatyana, the plastic mesh is attached around the tree trunk overlapping and held together with plastic coated wire. Growing up it is Clematis Julia Correvon which gets cut back hard every February.
I was really taken with Myras shot Donna. The Lemon trees would have to stay in the greenhouse all year round here in Aberdeen.
Karen a shrub garden leaving spaces for perennials and bulbs can look really good. So very easy to get it wrong though (talking from experience.)
When we purchased this one catmint, the flowers had clearly just gone over. A sign that the plant came from further south in the UK, no chance of it blooming here, unless maybe if I keep it in the greenhouse a little longer in Spring.
Martin, Rhododendrons flourish in our part of the country, must be the acidic soil.
Hi Alistair, your Cotinus looks great. It’s frustrating when a plant you love is not suited to your plot. I have come round to liking red and purple leaves but Cotinus are not fond of chalk. I also wish I could grow rhododendrons and camellias but my alkaline soil will not allow it, and in pots of acid soil they still die in our salt-laden winds. Still, it’s nice to see these plants doing well in other people’s gardens. Hope your Cotinus endures many a Scottish winter!
hi alastair, divine shot by Myra, love that dreamy look and the way she managed to get the cat to pose for her. As for the continus – I’ve got that one in my front garden. They grow very happily here. I love it too. It’s a bit unusual, most people have ‘Grace’. I’ve got ‘Grace’ too (I’m a bit greedy when it comes to smoke bushes, can hardly have enough)
Cotinus Royal Purple is such a beautiful plant, this plant grows very well for us here, oh! you are tempting me to pull out my flowers, and start a foliage garden. Yes and the tufts of pink cloud like flowers are very unusual, looking at them from a distance they do resemble a cloud of smoke. This plant can get really scraggly if not kept pruned into a bushy shrub. Have a lovely week.
I agree Myra’s shot is a stunner. Cotinus is a native tree although this cultivar is not but it is hardy here…I see them in flower in many places around the area, and they are lovely. How clever of you to put it in the greenhouse. If I had a greenhouse I would do the same with fig and lemon trees.
I have had offers to write on my blog but decided not to do it…love to hear your thoughts Alistair now that you have gone ahead and tried it.
I have one young Cotinus in my garden. So far, it’s doing well, but it can’t compete with your standard! That standard is gorgeous! I am curious about the mesh/net on the tree in the first picture. What is climbing there and can you tell me, please, how did you attach it to the tree? I need to do something to help my climbing hydrangeas. Thank you Alistair!
Myra looks lovely! I love Cotinus, we used to have one here, one of the original plants when we moved and liked it so much that it stayed. It died a few years ago for some unknown reasons but the flowers do look great in the autumn.
Not surprised you keep trying to grow this one, it’s a lovely plant!
Alistair I love the purple cotinus and have wondered about it but feel it will be too delicate for our winds so I am waiting until I can find a suitable sheltered spot, planting in pots and moving for winter is a good option and as you say it can then be placed differently each year, yours looks beautiful,
I love Myra’s October photo and love your cat surveying his/her domain like the true lion of the jungle 🙂 (is your cat on the bird bath?) Frances
Myra will be pleased, I better look out or she will want to hog the camera.
Myra’s shot is gorgeous! You truly have a beautiful garden. I need to purchase another cotinus. I had one here – it grew wonderfully until I redid the bed and made my husband rip it up. :O It looks beautiful in your garden – no wonder you keep trying it! I’ve often wondered about the guest post thing, too. I did enjoy reading his winter tips.
Hello Fay, good to hear from you and glad you are getting settled into your new home. I always thought you were moving away from the Orkney’s.
I love continus Alistair – I’m so glad you’ve got a solution to it. I’ve not sure I’ve seen in flower here although I have seen one of two of them.
A guest post – well that will be exciting won’t it. I’m like you I ponder the notion of it (although I’ve only been asked once) and didn’t know how to reply.
Goodluck with everything, now I’m moved and fully ‘internetted’ I’ll be catching up!
Regards to family
Fay