Royal Purple Smoke Tree - August 2024

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Another note to self about Fall Planting:  just look at this Royal Purple Smokebush.  Talk about 'easy'.  I put it in the ground late last year - very late - at the end of October.  And, have mostly forgotten about it.  Today?  It is more-than-doubled in size and is doing its dark-foliage thing.  I watered this a little bit this Summer and was always struck by the SOUND watering it made.  The foliage is different than other leaves and has water run-off of it almost like tyvek.  The house wrap.  Weird comparison, I know.  But, that's the best I one that came to mind.  Water sort-of 'beads' on the leaves and then drops down to the mulch.  

Here, below, is how it looks currently at the end of August:

Royal Purple Smoketree - planted one year ago.

We didn't get any of those 'clouds' of seedheads (yet), but that's ok.   This is probably 15-to-18-inches tall right now, so it has plenty of height left to grow into.  That means it will get us a little bit of screening along the property line as it matures.  Very nice.  

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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