This tree has grown more slowly than most trees around here. And of course, it's a fairly small tree even when mature. Love the blooming tree, also the fall color is nice in fall.

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The blooms appear in early summer and have a faint hint of pink. The pink lasts for weeks and then it fades leaving the smoky look until fall. The foliage is glossy dark green, with a leather-like texture. It is a slow grower and doesn't get very tall.

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The American Smoketree was found in the wild in only three spots in the South. The biggest area is north Arkansas & southcentral Missouri & northeast Oklahoma, a spot in southcentral Texas, and a spot in northeast Alabama and a little over into Tennessee. I've never seen this native species grown in the average landscape or yard in the Midwest or Mid-Atlantic or Northeast Regions of the US. I've only seen it so far in arboretums. The Common Smoketree from Eurasia is occasionally grown in northern Landscapes and yards and sold in large, diverse nurseries, especially the cultivars with purple foliage. The American Smoketree is also called a "Smokebush" as it can be either a large shrub or a small tree, usually multi-trunked. The leaves are 2 to 5 inches long and are bluish-green and develop an intense bright fall color from yellow to orange to red to purple-red or a combination. This American species does not have any cultivars with red-purple leaves all season long like the Eurasian. The real flowers of Smoketrees are tiny and yellowish; it is the long hairs around the flower clusters that gives the show in June and/or July. The male plants of Smoketrees have a slightly more showy display than the female plants. The fruit is a small red berry that is normally sparsely produced in August-September and the flowering hairs are also still present. This species grows about 6 to 12 inches/year and lives less than 100 years. Its root system is fibrous and shallow and it transplants readily in early spring into balled & burlapped. There is a cultivar called 'Northstar' or 'Cotton Candy' that has pink "smoke" and may be hardy to Zone 3.

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