Description Family Anacardiaceae Garden Origin. A compact, well-branched deciduous shrub with deep-purple foliage. Tiny yellow flowers on red- and pink-stems form soft, billowing summer clouds. Easy to grow in any well-drained soil or in pots in full sun. Dusky Maiden Smoke Bush in Your Garden Dusky and dense, this new variety bursts with flamboyant colours and textures. Cotinus ‘Dusky Maiden’ forms a compact, well-branched shrub, its vigorous new growth, appearing throughout the season, is deep-purple. Older foliage mellows to bronzy-green, creating a striking graduation of colours, before turning blazing orange and yellow in autumn. ‘Dusky Maiden’s flowers, though inconspicuous, bloom on a gauzy, filamentous inflorescence. These intricate branching structures’ pink and red hues provide most of the plants colour impact. Their wiry, intricate form creates a hazy, billowing look, giving rise to its Smoke Bush common name. This hardy shrub is suitable for all UK gardens, reaching 2.5m high and 1.5m wide in 10–20 years. Its flowers add soft texture and outstanding colour, contrasting with spiky plants in Suffolk’s Mediterranean gardens. There are few better show-stopping, colourful flowering patio plants for Norfolk’s sunny terraces and traditional English borders. Growing Tips for Your Cotinus Dusky Maiden Soil and Sun: Plant in any well-drained soil; full sun yields the densest, brightest foliage and flowers. Planting: Set in spring or autumn; summer planting requires extra attention to watering. Plunge for 20 minutes to drench the root ball before planting. Do not add compost or improvers to soil. Watering: Moderate; tolerates dry spells once established. Water regularly in its first summer whilst rooting out. Pruning: This compact form should require no pruning. Carry out any desired trimming immediately after flowering to ensure next season’s blooming. This exciting new variety is suitable for growing in pots thanks to extensive work on its breeding. Most other smoke bush varieties’ vigorous growth requires regular pruning to maintain them as a compact specimen. Its well-branched structure makes it an ideal colourful flowering patio plant for enjoying close-up near seating areas. Planting Ideas for the Dusky Maiden Smoke Bush Ignite your exotic garden with smoky pink and red blooms among flamboyant flowering trees and shrubs. Abutilons ‘Orange Hot Lava’ and ‘Souvenir de Bonn’, Koelreuteria paniculata, and Leycesteria ‘Golden Lanterns‘ add to the Cotinus’ heat. Climbers on nearby structures add to the riot, Lonicera x tellmaniana, Campsis ‘Madame Galen‘, and Eccremocarpus scaber add vertical fire. Add lower-level molten rivers of colour to set off the flaming backdrop. Plant drifts of Coreopsis ‘Bengal Tiger‘, Lobelia ‘Russian Princess’, Monarda ‘Gardenview Scarlet’, and Hesperantha coccinea ‘Major’. Add some lush foliage to knit together the crazy colours. Persicaria ‘Comptons Form’ and alpina, Zantedeschia aethiopica, Plectranthus ‘Variegated Mintleaf’, and Hosta ‘Fire and Ice’ add a calming contrast.
