Cotinus coggygria Red Spirit - Smoke Bush

Cotinus coggygria 'Red Spirit' is a variety famous for its red flowering and dark green foliage, tinged with blue that turns reddish-orange, absolutely spectacular in autumn! This deciduous shrub has a bushy habit, reaching a maximum height of 6m unless you prune it to promote a much more compact and dense habit. From early summer to autumn, it produces large feathery panicles in light red to coral pink, surrounding the bush with a fluorescent cloud. Perfectly hardy and robust, it is easily grown in full sun or partial shade in well-drained soil.

Cotinus coggygria, also known as smoke bush, is a bush in the Anacardiaceae family, native to southern Europe and Asia. In nature, it grows on rocky slopes, in poor soils and in dry climates.

The 'Red Spirit' variety is distinguished by its red flowering and dark green foliage with bluish reflections that turn reddish-orange in autumn. It has a bushy habit with long upright branches that bear rounded to oblong, simple and entire leaves. Of medium growth and large size, this deciduous bush reaches a height of about 6m and a width of 5m at maturity after 10 years. The Cotinus coggygria 'Red Spirit' produces panicles of small red flowers from July to September, with pedicels elongating to form a long feathery cluster covered in hairs: the inflorescence then takes on a light red to coral pink colour with a smoky appearance, earning this species its name of smoke tree. Its deciduous, round leaves appear as early as April and change colour throughout the season.

Easy to grow and extremely undemanding, the Cotinus coggygria 'Red Spirit' finds a place in any garden: as a specimen, in a border, as an informal hedge, and even in a large container on the terrace or balcony. In this case, it is advisable to choose a large, heavy and stable container that the wind is unlikely to knock over. Once well established in the garden, it tolerates drought well but does not tolerate excessive moisture in winter, especially in heavy soils. Like deciduous spindle trees, it is very useful for brightening up informal hedges or low-growing evergreen shrub borders such as boxwood, escallonias, and compact cherry laurels. Its fabulous autumn colours pair perfectly with late-flowering shrubs in shades of pink and large autumn asters in mauve (Aster laevis, turbinellus...). In bouquets, combine its purple flower clusters with white, pink, red, mauve or violet roses.