The Smoke Bush, Cotinus coggygria, is cultivated primarily for its distinctive visual features, which include the airy, plume-like flower clusters that create a “smoke” effect in summer and its deeply colored foliage. Cultivars like ‘Royal Purple’ or ‘Winecraft Black’ display dramatic, dark burgundy to near-black leaves, making the shrub a powerful focal point in any landscape. Effective companion planting aims to amplify this existing drama by selecting plants that offer striking color or texture contrast. The chosen companions must also tolerate the specific, often challenging, growing environment that allows the Smoke Bush to display its most vibrant coloration.
Environmental Needs for Healthy Pairing
The primary requirement for successful pairing is selecting plants that thrive under the same demanding environmental conditions as the Smoke Bush. Cotinus coggygria develops its deepest foliage color when exposed to full sun, which means companions must tolerate at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. Purple-leaved varieties, in particular, will often revert to a duller green if planted in partial shade. The shrub is highly adaptable to various soil types, including clay, loam, or sandy compositions, and tolerates a wide range of soil pH. However, excellent drainage is non-negotiable; soggy or wet soil can quickly lead to problems like Verticillium wilt. Once established, Cotinus is remarkably drought-tolerant. Therefore, companion plants must also be naturally water-wise and capable of enduring periods when the soil dries out almost completely between waterings.
Companions for Visual Contrast and Height
Mid-layer plantings should be chosen to maximize the aesthetic contrast against the Smoke Bush’s dense, dark foliage, either by introducing opposing colors or by using contrasting leaf shapes. One of the most effective color pairings involves using plants with silver, blue, or highly variegated leaves to make the dark purple of the Cotinus appear richer and deeper. Taller, fine-textured perennials like Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) provide a hazy, cool-toned blue that mimics the smoky texture of the Cotinus plumes but offers a structural contrast to the main shrub’s solid form. Similarly, the soft, woolly foliage of Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina) introduces a silvery-white texture that visually separates the dark leaves of the Smoke Bush from the ground layer.
Introducing chartreuse or golden foliage creates an even more dramatic effect, as yellow is directly opposite purple on the color wheel, intensifying both hues. Golden ornamental grasses or the bright foliage of Mock Orange (Philadelphus) should be positioned to catch the light and create a luminous backdrop. When selecting companions for height, choose upright perennials like Blazing Star (Liatris) or Sneezeweed (Helenium) that provide vertical lines or mounding forms to complement the Smoke Bush’s overall structure without crowding its base. For late-season interest, the clear azure-blue flowers of Monkshood (Aconitum carmichaelii) bloom in autumn, presenting a vivid cool-toned contrast just as the Cotinus foliage turns to fiery orange and red fall colors.
Underplanting and Groundcover Selections
The lowest layer of planting serves the dual purpose of aesthetic enhancement and landscape functionality, helping to cool the soil and suppress weed growth directly beneath the Smoke Bush’s canopy. All underplantings must be able to withstand the dry, full-sun conditions. Succulent groundcovers are particularly suitable, as their fleshy leaves store water, making them inherently drought-tolerant.
For example, ‘Angelina’ sedum (Sedum rupestre) forms a low, dense mat of needle-like foliage that glows with chartreuse and yellow tones, creating a vibrant, luminous contrast against the dark Cotinus trunk. Another robust option is Creeping Thyme (Thymus praecox), which prefers the well-drained, often rocky soil that the Smoke Bush tolerates and forms a thin, aromatic carpet capable of handling light foot traffic. Low-growing, sun-loving perennials like the hardy Geraniums offer a dense, weed-suppressing habit, with cultivars such as Armenian cranesbill (Geranium psilostemon) providing magenta flowers that weave through the lower branches, adding unexpected pops of color.