Habitat

• native to southern Europe to central China
• hardy to zone 5; possibly warmer parts of zone 4

Habit and Form

• a large, deciduous shrub
• can be trained as a small tree
• grows 12' to 15' tall with an equal spread
• multistemmed or single stemmed
• rounded to irregular shape
• branching is upright and spreading
• sometimes becoming a bit open and loose

Summer Foliage

• alternate, simple, leaves with entire margins
• leaves are 1.5" to 3.5" long
• oval to obovate shape
• leaf tip rounded or notched
• veins are parallel coming off the midrib
• long petioles, up to 1.5" long
• leaf color is bluish-green

Autumn Foliage

• generally fairly showy although not always good
• a mix of yellow, orange, and red

Flowers

• actual flowers are small and yellow-green
• flowering occurs in June
• the flowers are held in 6" to 8" long and wide panicles
• the showiness of the bloom results from plumy hairs on the sterile flowers
• the panicles change colors as their age during the months of June, July, august and September
• at their peak, the panicles are a "smokey" pink and can cover a plant

Fruit

• small and not ornamentally important

Bark

• stems are smooth purple or brown and are covered with a waxy bloom
• older stems develop a bark broken up into small, thin blocks
• older bark is light gray

Culture

• easily transplanted and established
• full sun
• adaptable to many soils and pHs
• very tolerant of hot, dry, gravelly soils and sites

Landscape Use

• shrub border
• specimen
• small groupings
• difficult sites
• for mid and late summer "flowering" effect

Liabilities

• relatively trouble free
• Verticillium wilt

ID Features

• twigs brown and purple with a waxy bloom
• lateral buds are small
• obovate leaves with rounded or notched tip
• long petioles
• "smokey" panicles

Propagation

• by cuttings
• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

'Daydream' - One of the best green-leaved selections, with dense blooms that are very full and "creamy"-looking. The habit is more compact, to 10' tall and wide.

'Grace' - A hybrid with C. obovatus, this cultivar has purple leaves that mature to blue-green and very large, 12"-14" panicles of pink blooms. The fall color is also excellent. It is new on the market, but seems to show promise.

'Nordine' - Perhaps the hardiest purple-leaved form. Holds the purple leaf color well all season and develops yellow-orange fall foliage.

'Norcutt's Variety' (also listed as 'Rubrifolius' and 'Foliis Purpureis Notcutt's Variety') - A very richly colored purple-leaved form.

'Royal Purple' -A common purple-leaved form with very good dark foliage and purple-red inflorescences. Less cold hardy than 'Nordine'.

'Velvet Cloak' - This is another dark purple-leaved form that holds its color well and develops striking orange-red fall color. It is commonly available.