Smoky Mountain Autumn blooms above the foliage and I have not noticed rust on it at all. It has not increased a lot since I purchased it in 2009, but I may have split it and given some away. Even so, I would not call it a fast increaser. It has a good 3-4 week bloom period from mid-June to mid-July in my zone 6b garden. A definite keeper!
This photo shows the branching and blooms. I have it in front of Brown's Honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa 'Dropmore Scarlet') vine, which is almost the same color as SMA in this picture, but SMA has different hues on different days.
