), each year there's a big decision to make: to cut or not to cut. Cutting it back sharply – not just light pruning but whacking it off about a foot high, a technique known as stooling -- controls its ...

Pruning needs: Prune in late winter and early spring to maintain well-branched, rounded shape. Water needs: Low to moderate water and fast drainage. Snapshot: This deciduous plant, which can be ...

In our yard right now, there are three happy plants. These relatives all have a distinctive color of a very dark green hue. And, as the branches lengthen, a purple color sets into the sky. They are ...

GINA PARKINSON welcomes a sight of smoke in the garden even though there is not a bonfire to be seen. PLANTS with dark-coloured foliage can add drama and contrast in the garden, none more so than the ...

So many different ornamentals are described as unique, and gardening is filled with examples of stunning foliage and flowering potential. But the blooms of the American smoke tree (Cotinus obovatus) ...

“To know the smoke tree is an experience; but one cannot know it at its strikingly best unless he has seen it in full flush of flower in June or early July, after the first blast of summer heat has ...