Cotinus obovatus
American smoke bush
- Position: full sun
- Soil: moderately-fertile, moist, well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: average
- Flowering period: July to August
- Flower colour: green
- Hardiness: fully hardy
This beautiful plant is renowned for its spectacular foliage. When it first emerges in spring, it is flushed with pinkish-bronze before it turns green for the summer. Come the autumn it turns breath-taking shades of orange, red and purple before it drops. The big, plume-like clusters of flowers that appear in summer and usually last into autumn are an added bonus. A wonderful addition to the garden, it can be grown as a large shrub, or small, multi-stemmed tree. - Garden care: In late winter or early spring remove any misplaced, diseased or crossing branches. Alternatively, to produce larger leaves cut the stems back hard to within two or three buds of the base in early spring. After pruning apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted garden compost or manure around the base of the plant.
Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee'
barrenwort
Profusion of large lilac flowers
Prunus cerasifera 'Pissardii'
purple-leaved plum
Rich purple foliage
Hamamelis × intermedia 'Diane'
witch hazel
Coppery-red, scented, spidery flowers in winter
Convallaria majalis var. rosea
lily-of-the-valley
A rarer, pink form of the much loved lily-of-the-valley
How to control diseases
Prevention is better than cure with diseases in the garden so keep your plants growing as strongly as possible – allowing them to fight off infections naturally. A weak plant is much more likely to fall prey than a good,...
Read full articleHoney fungus
Symptoms There are different symptoms which point to honey fungus, some or all of them may be present at one time. Also, death can take years or be virtually instantaneous with plants being suddenly stopped in their tracks, half-opened leaves just...
Read full articleMarch pruning of trees, shrubs and climbers
Use the following notes as a guide when pruning trees, shrubs and climbers in your garden during the month of March. I’ve included timely advice on Abeliophyllum, Artemesia, Brachyglottis, Brunfelsia, Buddleja, Ceanothus, Clematis, Colutea, Cotinus, Daphne, Eccremocarpus, Elsholtzia, ...
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