Plant Finder

Other Names:  American Smokebush, syn. Northstar

Description:

A beautiful small tree or large shrub, valued for its fascinating pink plumes in summer and red-orange fall colors, extremely showy; rounded habit of growth, good size for the home landscape; very adaptable and hardy

Ornamental Features

Cotton Candy American Smoketree features airy plumes of pink flowers at the ends of the branches in mid summer. It has bluish-green deciduous foliage. The round leaves turn an outstanding orange in the fall. The warty gray bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

Cotton Candy American Smoketree is a multi-stemmed deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Cotton Candy American Smoketree is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening

Planting & Growing

Cotton Candy American Smoketree will grow to be about 18 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under average home landscape conditions. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selection of a native North American species.