They are not a messy bush.
Evaluate your smoke bush in late winter or early spring before new growth begins and select the strongest two to three trunks, evenly spaced across the plant. 2 Cut out all other trunks and shoots Missing: Redlands CA. How to Prune a Smoke Bush Into Tree Form. Smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria) has a lot going for it -- rich purple foliage, unusual wispy blooms that appear to wreath the plant in smoke, and a compact size that fits into any garden.
The deciduous shrub or small tree grows up to 15 feet tall if Missing: Redlands CA. Mar 26, How to prune a smoke tree into a bush by cutting it almost all the way to the ground in late winter and encouraging a tidier plant with more compact stumpfall.clubted Reading Time: 5 mins.
Aug 01, He found this video that details the proper pruning technique for these kinds of large bushes/small trees, and basically we learned that a smoke tree should be pruned in winter or early spring by trimming at the branching-off point, to keep the tree from over-sprouting.
John had instead simply cut the branches at their ends, down to the height we wanted the tree to stumpfall.clubted Reading Time: 5 mins. Cut all of the limbs and stems of the smoke tree down to about 2 1/2 inches above the ground in February or March.
2 Repeat this cutting once a year for a smoke tree with abundant colorful stumpfall.clubg: Redlands CA. Prune a smoke bush back to stands 12 to18 inches above ground for subsequent years.
Alternatively, prune to thin it, removing up to one-third of the oldest, misshapen and unproductive stems. Also, thin out crowded areas, especially in the center of the shrub, and shape as stumpfall.clubg: Redlands CA.