Young Lady Pink Smoke Tree

The Young Lady Smoketree is a remarkable shrub, forming a compact bush reaching no more than 6 feet tall and wide in time, and smothered for three months of the summer in an immense cloud of smokey mauve-pink blooms. No sooner has blooming finished than the blue-green leaves turn dramatic shades of yellow, orange and scarlet, so this plant is of interest for month after month. It blooms even when young, long before other smoketrees do. It stays compact, so it is ideal for smaller spaces in any garden.

• Smothered in a cloud of pink blooms all summer
• Flowers while young, and always prolifically
• Compact, and ideal for smaller spaces
• Spectacular fall colors of yellow, orange and red
• Blooms prolifically even when young

Full sun is best for the Young Lady Smoketree, which is hardy from zone 4 to zone 8. It grows in any well-drained soil, including poorer ones, and on rocky ground. It is drought resistant, but it will bloom best with a regular supply of water, so mulch for nutrition and water conservation. Deer don’t eat it and pests and diseases are almost never a problem – this is an easy plant to grow. The only care needed is to remove the flower heads as they dry, and this will keep more blooms coming over a longer period.