How to prune smokebush 'royal purple'

Early spring, before buds break. For foliage effect: cut all main stems back to a low framework of 2–4 buds. For flowers: remove only dead wood and lightly thin crossing branches. Never hard prune and expect plumes — choose one approach and stick with it each season.

Annually if coppicing for foliage; every few years if growing for flowers. Smokebush 'Royal Purple' can be grown two ways. For its famous smoky flower plumes, prune lightly or not at all. For large, vivid purple foliage (at the expense of flowers), cut all stems hard back to a framework in early spring — this juvenile-wood technique produces dramatically bigger leaves.

For foliage effect: cut all main stems back to a low framework of 2–4 buds. For flowers: remove only dead wood and lightly thin crossing branches. Never hard prune and expect plumes — choose one approach and stick with it each season.