Golden Spirit Smokebush

Golden Spirit Smokebush (Cotinus coggygria 'Ancot')

Golden Spirit Smokebush brings bright, golden foliage to the landscape and keeps that color working for you from spring through fall. New growth emerges chartreuse, settles into a clear golden yellow for summer, then shifts to warm coral, orange, and red tones as temperatures cool. It forms a strong, multi-stem shrub that can also be trained into a small tree, giving you flexible design options in one plant. Once established in well-drained soil, it handles heat and short dry spells well while adding a steady, high-contrast look to mixed plantings.

Distinctive Features

This smokebush is grown primarily for its luminous foliage, with rounded to oval leaves that hold a bright yellow color in full sun and provide dramatic contrast against darker shrubs and evergreens. In summer, airy flower panicles create the classic smoke-like effect in pale pink to pinkish tones, adding a soft, hazy layer above the foliage. The habit is upright and loose-spreading, often multi-stemmed, with good presence even when not in bloom. In fall, the foliage typically transitions to a mix of coral, orange, red, and burgundy tones for a strong seasonal finish.

Growing Conditions

• Sun: Full sun produces the best foliage color and flowering, with light shade tolerated but often less vibrant.
• Soil: Average, well-drained soil is ideal, and it tolerates a range of soil types as long as drainage is good.
• Water: Water regularly to establish, then provide occasional deep watering during extended drought.
• USDA Zones: Hardy in USDA Zones 4 to 8.
• Mature Size: Typically grows 8 to 10 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet wide, and can be kept smaller with annual pruning.

Ideal Uses

• Focal Point: Use as a focal point where the golden foliage can brighten the center of a sunny bed and hold attention all season.
• Specimen Shrub: Plant as a single standout shrub to create bold contrast against evergreens and darker foliage plants.
• Mixed Borders: Layer into borders to add a bright mid-story element that separates and highlights neighboring colors.
• Screening: Use in informal groupings to build a loose, colorful screen with strong seasonal change.
• Small Tree Form: Train into a multi-stem small tree to lift the canopy and create an airy, architectural accent.

Low Maintenance Care

• Pruning: Prune in late winter to early spring to shape, remove dead wood, or cut back harder to refresh growth and maintain size.
• Watering: Provide consistent moisture in the first growing season, then reduce frequency as the plant establishes.
• Fertilizing: Use minimal fertilizer, because overly rich soil can encourage softer growth and reduce color intensity.
• Mulching: Mulch lightly to moderate soil moisture and temperature, keeping mulch pulled back from stems.
• Airflow: Give the plant space and avoid overcrowding to support healthy foliage in humid climates.

Why Choose Golden Spirit Smokebush?

• Season-Long Brightness: Chartreuse to golden foliage keeps beds looking lighter and more defined from spring through fall.
• Summer Texture: Smoke-like flower plumes add a soft, airy effect and seasonal depth in summer.
• Strong Fall Color: Leaves shift to coral, orange, red, and burgundy tones for a high-impact autumn finish.
• Design Flexibility: Grows as a shrub or can be trained into a small tree form to suit different layouts.
• Low Input Performance: Tolerates heat and short dry spells once established in well-drained soil and is often less favored by deer in many landscapes.

Golden Spirit Smokebush is an easy way to add long-running color and a clean, modern contrast note to sunny landscapes. Pair it with dark evergreens, purple foliage shrubs, or blue-toned perennials to make the yellow tones read even brighter. With sun, drainage, and a simple annual prune, it stays dense, colorful, and dependable year after year.