Common Smoketree

Cotinus coggygria

Scop. Species

Cotinus coggygria
Shanze Yoell via iNaturalist — CC BY 4.0
Cotinus coggygria photograph 1 Cotinus coggygria photograph 2 Cotinus coggygria photograph 3 Cotinus coggygria photograph 4 Cotinus coggygria photograph 5 Cotinus coggygria photograph 6
Botanical name
Cotinus coggygria
Also known as
Common Smoketree, European Smoketree, Fustet, Smoke-Bush, Smoke-Tree, Smokebush, Smoketree, Venetian Sumac, Venetian-Sumac, Wig Tree, Wigtree, Young Fustic
Family
Anacardiaceae
Genus
Cotinus
Flowering period
June to July
Height
3–5 m
Spread
3–5 m
Hardiness
Fully hardy (RHS H6)
Reference
World Flora Online

How to grow Common Smoketree

Written by the GardenDecoded editorial team Last reviewed 21 July 2026 Written for UK gardens How we research our guidance

Sunlight
Full sun; purple-leaved forms colour poorly in shade
Watering
Low once established
Soil
Moderately fertile, well-drained; tolerates poor and chalky soil
Soil pH
Acid to alkaline

Planting

Plant in autumn or spring in full sun on ground that is not too rich. Poor soil gives better autumn colour and stronger flowering; a well-fed plant makes leaves and little else.

Pruning

You are choosing between two effects. Leave it largely unpruned, taking out only old or crossing wood in early spring, and you get the smoke-like flower panicles. Or cut it hard back to a low framework each March and you get much larger, better-coloured leaves but no flowers. Both are valid; do not do half of each.

Propagation

Softwood cuttings in early summer, or layering in autumn.

Pests and diseases

Usually trouble-free. Verticillium wilt can cause sudden branch dieback; there is no cure, so remove affected wood and do not replant susceptible species in the same ground.

Notes

Autumn leaf colour is a large part of its value and is best on hungry, dry soil in full sun. It is slow to leaf out in spring - do not assume a bare plant in April is dead.

This guidance was researched and written by GardenDecoded — see our editorial policy for how guides are checked and reviewed.

Other names for this plant

These names have all been used for Cotinus coggygria but are no longer the accepted name. You may still meet them on old labels, in books, or in nursery catalogues.

Cotinus cinerea Cotinus coggygria f. atropurpureus Cotinus coggygria f. pendulus Cotinus coggygria subsp. glabra Cotinus coggygria var. chengkouensis Cotinus coggygria var. cinereus Cotinus coggygria var. glaucophylla Cotinus coggygria var. laevis Cotinus coggygria var. parvifolia Cotinus coggygria var. pendulus Cotinus coggygria var. pubescens Cotinus coggygria var. velutinus Cotinus coriaria Cotinus cotinus Cotinus ellipticus Cotinus velutina Rhus cotina Rhus cotinus Rhus laevis Rhus obovatifolia Rhus simplicifolia Rhus velutina

Others in Cotinus

Cotinus americana
Cotinus carranzae
Cotinus chiangii
Cotinus kanaka
Cotinus nana
Cotinus obovatus
Chittamwood
Cotinus szechuanensis

GardenDecoded is an educational gardening reference. Botanical data comes from World Flora Online and GBIF; growing guidance is our own. Always check a plant's toxicity and local invasiveness status before planting, and never eat or apply a plant based on this site alone.