The scumpia plant is a deciduous shrub grown primarily for ornamental purposes. He loves light very much and easily tolerates drought, and, on the contrary, has an extremely negative attitude to excessive soil moisture, refusing to bloom. In gardens, the scumpia shrub is cultivated relatively recently, in the wild, the remains of this plant were found even in remains dating back to the Paleocene period.
Description of the scumpia plant
Scumpia (Cotinus) belongs to the Anacardia family. Homeland – Europe, Asia, North America, Caucasus, Crimea.
Then you can see the photo and read the description of the scumpia.
These are deciduous shrubs or, less often, small trees 2 – 3 m high, with simple rounded or oblong-ovate leaves 3 – 8 cm long, turning yellow or reddening in autumn.
The flowers are small, greenish-yellow, collected in loose panicles. It blooms in the middle lane in summer, mainly in June, from 4 – 5 years of age. The bush becomes bright and especially beautiful during the period of fruit ripening, when hairs of gray-violet, pink or purple appear on the pedicels.
As you can see in the photo, the scumpia fruit is a small drupe:
Two types are known.
Grows in North America from. American (C. americanus). In central Russia, scumpia suffers from frost, requires shelter, therefore, the most resistant species is grown – from. ordinary, or yellow (C. coggygria).
Scumpia is very effective on lawns, as well as in single and group plantings, especially against the background of tall trees. The shrub is suitable for creating hedges and is widely used as a field-protective plant. Possesses high antibacterial activity. The leaves contain tannins, which are used in medicine. Dyes are made from scumpia, its wood is used for crafts, the leaves are used for tanning leather.
Pruning when growing scumpia
Scumpia is cultivated in gardens both because of the beautiful bright leaves and because of the lacy inflorescence covered with pubescence, therefore, shaping and pruning are carried out taking this factor into account.
The plant tolerates pruning well. Usually it should be started at 2 – 3 years of age. In the first year, immediately after planting the scumpia in a permanent place, usually in late March – early April, it is necessary to completely remove all weak and damaged shoots, they are cut into a ring, and the main stems are simultaneously cut off to a height of 30 – 45 cm from the base of the bush. In summer (July – August), as a result of strong pruning, the scumpia forms strong, unbranched shoots. In the spring of next year, last year’s growths should be strongly cut off by 2-5 cm from the main skeletal stems. This is done to ensure that the main skeletal branches are spaced as needed.
By mid-summer (July – August), the plant forms a powerful skeleton, with a significant number of strong shoots, on which a large number of buds and flowers will grow next year.
When caring for the shrub, pruning of the skumpia should be carried out every 2 to 3 years, in late spring, but before the leaves bloom. It also tolerates heavy pruning, including planting on a tree stump.
The plant can be given a round or standard shape. Weak and dead branches are cut out as they age.
The photo of skumpia care shows how the pruning of the shrub is performed:
