Cotinus Coggygria

The cotiunus is an essence that loves to live in dry places, sunny and breezy, also does not have big problems with the cold, this at least in Italy.
It 'a little strange essence, its sap, which also is slightly toxic, it smells almost like resin, also often select the lymphatic vessels as happens in the junipers, yews, etc.., And in doing so is not uncommon to find Cotinus in many parts of dry wood, wood that gets thinner over time by creating, at times, like sails in the junipers.
It 's not all, in late spring fills the beautiful foliage of "plumes" and instead of flowers autumn turns leaves various gradations of color, from yellow to orange to a deep red.
So is a beautiful wood that I recommend everyone to try.
But we come to mine, I picked it up in 2008, but supporting it with fertilizer and water all over the previous year.
The engraftment was not so quiet at first, after a normal period of stagnation shock, development of fine gems, but at the time the drying up, I tried to help with plant stimulants and gradually recovered.
Now the bowl is still growing but already the next year I should store it in a suitable pot.
After a period of invigorating the plant are now in the development of branching, this has been pruned to the vegetative growth and probably will do a defoliation in July with pruning, all of these tasks is the supervision and also the hand of my Master Auer O.
Returning to Cotinus is to say also that has a problem and that is to have enough branches brittle / rigid and therefore does not like the thread, but if youth are to be placed in that position forever.
As you will see from the photos my Cotinus has a dry sailing, created by mother nature, very charming with very large single vein, is quite high and will maintain a style much "know", even if it still needs a branch as they should .
To you some photos:

As was in nature


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the first signs of life


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the first flowering in 2009

Wow, that's a really great find! Please keep us posted with its development, and welcome to the forum.

Russell

That is a good find , i am always on the look out for one of these.

Thanks Russel, of course update you.
Smithy in Italy or at least in the areas that I attend, there are two natural behavior of the cotinus, a creeping (most) and one with the trunk more or less vertically, this is determined by a factor, the wind, as in the zones where the wind reaches the plants without any difficulty the plant's natural habit keeps them low / crawling where instead, for example in a basin, the plant tends to rise, this is my opinion from my experience evaluated and perhaps of what I may be wrong.

Hi, Andrea!
Nice find you have got!

I have some cotinus at my farm land for which I have plans... These are of the bush type you distinguished above.
Do you have any special comments regarding the collection procedure? How much rootball/rootlets need to be removed? How did you treat the tree after removal? Did you use black plastic bag?... I know that you Italians use it a lot for yamadori collected trees.

Thanks in advance for your input.

In my experience (not much with cotinus) I advise you to support them throughout the year with water and fertilizer, then next spring when the buds start to open, you can pick them up.
Unfortunately do not like transplanting and usually do not have roots near the base of the plant.
In my case I was lucky because he had formed a zone of humus formed by leaves and dry branches, and at that point I found alquante capillaries that have become very useful for fixation of the plant.
Collect all the roots possible, especially if they are thin and rich in capillaries, you're right in Italy is used very bagging but I've never tried this technique.
If the plant has some interesting features for our purpose may, in the absence of neighboring roots using the technique of layering, if you do not know you tell me that I explain.
I am in the postharvest period of implantation up to certainty I ordered the plant in partial shade, watering and taking care to helping her administration "Sprintene" a stimulant for growth once every three / four days, interrupting him after two weeks of treatment, to resume after one or two weeks.
Ciao Alessandra.

funny !

Thank you very much, Andrea!

Excellent trunk movement.

Would anyone know of a cotinus variety that will do well in zone 8b? I bought some of a few years back for landscape purposes and the leaves burn and dry here (even in partial shade).

There are several cultivars Poink, but I do not know if they can live at your latitude, try asking in a garden.
I'm sorry.
Ciao.

I love the wood of Cotinus. Here is a sample of a pen I made out of its root burl (called Chittam). The pic doesn't do it justice though and is much nicer in person.

Poink Wow, you have manufactured yourself? You are very good.
The fountain pen with wood cotinus is fabulous.
you have an online store?

Thanks. Yes I made this myself from a long gone hobby. I have to stop (in 2006 I believe) due to allergic reaction (don't know if was caused by exotic wood or chemical being used).

I used to have my own site until GoDaddy sold my account shortly after it lapsed. My fault for not keeping up with it (easy to happen if you have 5 year initial contract) but I thought they will send me notification at least but did not. A shame since I built it so I am already at the first 2 pages of Google when you search for similar products. I even got featured in a multi-State magazine once.

Though I still have the capability (tools, etc.) to make these...it is just one of my "previous lives" now. LOL

Cotinus/smoketree/chittam burl is one of my favorites to be honest.