The airy clusters that appear after flowering look like pink smoke and give this group of plants their name. A few weeks after blooming, they turn brown or grayish. This 10- to 12-foot-tall shrub to small tree also has colorful fall foliage. Unpruned, plants can reach 20 feet tall. Likes poor, rocky soil. Can be started by seed, but best from cuttings of plants known to produce many smoky clusters. Can also buy plants in spring. Female plants generally produce more "smoke". Prune in early spring.
Its dark purple leaves, which stay through summer when other varieties turn green, show off purplish blooms. Spectacular fall color.