Cotsidh5

Smokebush

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Young Lady' and 'Royal Purple'

Summary: The plant growth habit of 'Cotsidh5' is bushy rounded whereas the plant growth habit of 'Royal Purple' is upright. The plants of 'Cotsidh5' are smaller than the plants of 'Royal Purple'. The colour of the current season shoot of 'Cotsidh5' is purple red whereas the current season shoot of 'Young Lady' is medium green. The petiole of 'Cotsidh5' is longer than the petiole of both reference varieties. The upper side of the leaf blade of 'Cotsidh5' is dark brown whereas the leaf blade of 'Young Lady' is brown green.

Description:

SHRUB: deciduous type, bushy rounded growth habit, medium degree of branching, medium density of foliage

BRANCH: erect to semi-erect attitude
STEM: medium thickness, round shape in cross-section, grey brown, no twisting, absent or very sparse pubescence, smooth texture of bark, medium degree of glaucosity, medium number of lenticels
CURRENT SEASON SHOOT: purple red

PETIOLE: present
LEAF: arranged alternately and in spiral pattern along shoot, simple type
LEAF BLADE: orbicular shape, obtuse to rounded apex, rounded base, entire margin, absent or very weak undulation of margin, weak glossiness of upper side, smooth texture, absent or very weak fragrance, dark brown (RHS 200A, but redder) upper side, medium green lower side

FLOWER: none produced during time of observation

Origin & Breeding History: 'Cotsidh5' was discovered and developed by the breeder, Gurjit Sidhu, in Mission, British Columbia. It originated from a naturally occurring whole plant mutation of the Cotinus coggygria variety 'Royal Purple' that was discovered in a block of container grown plants in Mission, British Columbia, in the spring of 2011. 'Cotsidh5' was selected for its compact plant growth habit and the appearance of its new leaves which are very small prior to expansion. It was grown in greenhouse trials conducted from 2011 to 2016 to assess its stability, uniformity and overall performance. 'Cotsidh5' was first propagated asexually from stem cuttings in July 2011, in Mission, British Columbia.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'Cotsidh5' was conducted as an outdoor irrigated container trial during the summer of 2017 at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 10 shrubs of the candidate variety and 8 shrubs each of the reference varieties. All shrubs were obtained as 4.5 litre container plants that were transplanted into 13.5 litre containers on May 29, 2017. The observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants or 10 parts of plants of the candidate variety and from 8 plants or 10 parts of 8 plants of each of the reference varieties on July 15, 2017. The flowers were not observed for the candidate variety. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Cotsidh5' with reference varieties 'Young Lady' and 'Royal Purple'

Shrub height (cm)

Shrub width (cm)

Petiole length (cm)

Colour of leaf blade (RHS)

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Smokebush: 'Cotsidh5' (left) with reference varieties 'Royal Purple' (centre) and 'Young Lady' (right)

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Smokebush: 'Cotsidh5' (left) with reference varieties 'Young Lady' (centre) and 'Royal Purple' (right)

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Smokebush: 'Cotsidh5' (left) with reference varieties 'Young Lady' (centre) and 'Royal Purple' (right)