American Smoketree
Cotinus obovatusAmerican Smoketree is a tree native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 15–25 ft tall and 25 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms pink, yellow and purple in Apr–May. Good for birds.
Will it grow in your yard?
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The facts
4 sources- Type
- Tree
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade (4–8 hrs of direct sun)
- Water
- Low
- Height
- 15–25 ft
- Spread
- 25 ft
- Bloom
- Apr–May · pink, yellow, purple
- Foliage
- Deciduous or dies back in winter
- Soil
- Takes caliche and clay · recorded on clay, dry, limestone, loam, rocky, sand, well drained
- Deer
- Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth
- Wildlife
- Supports birds and browsing mammals
Where it grows
Recorded in this EPA Level IV ecoregion in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:
92 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).
Can you buy it?
Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.
also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.