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Smoke tree and smoke bush cut back

6 years ago

I cut back my smoke tree a few weeks ago in early spring. I took all the branches down to the central node within an inch or two. Will it come back? How long do these typically take to start shooting up new branches? I just hope I didn't kill it. What should I look for if I did? What should I look for to see if its still alive and going to grow?

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Comments (5)

Sara Malone Zone 9b
6 years ago
It will come back with a vengeance. They are slow to leaf out in spring. Just be patient.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
welcome to the forums dave.. if you are going to hang around.. add your location on your member's page ...

and if you dont think that is important.. i cant really tell you when its going to resprout .... e.g compare sara's z9 to my z5MI ....

anyway ... i am pretty sure you could run this over with a cement truck and not kill it.. so stop worrying about that ...

and with no insult to the root mass ... i would expect it to be back to the size you cut down.. in a year or 3... depending on location ...

you might want to think about removal.. next time it tries to take over the yard ...unlike children.. you dont have to keep problem plants ... lol...

unfortunately.. i dont remember if they bloom on new or old wood.. someone else will have to tell us if it will bloom this year .... so.. at worse.. you lose this years bloom ...

ken
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Chris, I remember your original post. You have Grace, a smoke tree hybrid. It looks horrible. You have a choice. If you can stand it, let it try to grow in and it might put out more branches in the next 3-4 weeks. Don't cut it at all until next March. Next March, before it leafs out, cut each branch totally down and only leave about 2-3 inches of branch. Leave the frame intact. The tree will all regrow every single branch and the foliage will be spectacular. It will look funny when you cut all of the branches so drastically, NOT the FRAME, just the branches, but if you don't cut them all the way down, it will look worse and become more spindly. With this bush/tree, you must coppice it, really cut all of the brances back to the frame for the tree to regrow properly. Wear gloves, it is a member of the sumac family and will leak a foul smelling liquid when you cut it, smells exactly like turpentine. I would leave it alone til next March and then cut it back. Trust me, if you do, you will be pleased at how it grows in. In your zone, you may have to cut it back at least every other year for a couple more years til it ages a little bit, by the way, "Grace" will get 20 feet tall. What ever you do, for Gods sake, don't cut the top of it. The main trunk branch. Leave that alone, only the branches. Good Luck!
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did you google REJUVENATION PRUNING OF FLOWERING SHRUBS ???? why in the world any so called expert.. would NOT know how to trim this bush is beyond me.. and makes me wonder about his CV .... curriculum vitae ... and for the cost of a saw .. $10 at tractor supply ... i dont know why you would pay anyone to do it ... and let me know what this dude charges you ... maybe its worth a drive from adrain.. lol ... but then i would violate rule 3 above ... you cant really have rule 3.. and do this properly ... and that is why you are spinning your wheels ... all flowering shrubs.. you enjoy the show.. then prune when its done flowering .. so it can set its buds in late fall for next year ... or if the other type.. grow the new buds in spring .... ken
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I trim out unruly stems throughout the year until July. I just cut back an American Smoketree that was 5' tall with only a few leaves on top all the way back to 12". It started to back bud and is leafing out now. I wonder if its too late to cut it back to bare stems but I wouldn't hesitate to trim any unruly growth.
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These vary in flowering behavior, same as other shrubs. If the foliage remains good-looking all summer lack of water probably not the problem. Maybe future results will be better. Propagations of 'Royal Purple' I've bought and planted have seemed to lack vigor, wanted to be watered. Otherwise Smoke Bush should grow well here without coddling - as long as exposure is sunny, soil is well-drained and not infested with Verticillium. Noted making up part of the continental climate scrub growing near the Great Wall, along with peach trees and lilacs. Perhaps the most impressive specimens I've seen have been in eastern WA.
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Sara Malone Zone 9b
6 years ago
They bloom on second year wood. I hate the blooms so prune every year to avoid them. And even though Ken is zone 5 and I'm 9b, 'late to leaf out' means the same thing everywhere. Mine are just leafing out now, Ken's maybe later, but the point is relative to other deciduous shrubs. And Ken is right - TWO cement trucks wouldn't kill it!
laceyvail 6A, WV
6 years ago
I've been cutting back my Cotinus 'Golden Spirit" (think that's the cultivar name) for years. We've had a very cold spring that has turned into summer, but still no sign of new growth on the smoke bush. It will start soon.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
this type of plant has dormant buds ... which trigger after the cut ..

and they will need time to trigger and appear ... which might be later than the usual leaf out ...

but it will break new buds ...

ken

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