Royal Purple (Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple') - foliage plant, illustrated plant cardIllustration

Royal Purple

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'

Royal Purple blooms from June through July.

Bloom calendar
Bloom time
Jun–Jul
not yet checked
Hardiness
Zones 4–8
not yet checked
Sun
Full sun
not yet checked
Water
Low water
not yet checked
Mature size
11 ft × 10 ft
not yet checked
Type
Shrub
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Royal Purple

Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 11 ft tall and 10 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 5 years (not yet checked).

Verification
What this means

Written with AI assistance and not yet checked plant by plant against recorded sources, so treat every fact above as a starting point. Its scientific name was checked against botanical registries, an audit keeps its values consistent with the rest of the library, and a July 2026 review re-read the main facts of every plant then in the library against horticultural authorities without recording a source for each, which is why none of that counts as checked here. The source-by-source check is working through the whole library in the open, and a checked plant says so in this row.

When to plant Royal Purple

Plant Royal Purple in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from June to July.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Royal Purple get?

Illustration of Royal Purple drawn to scale beside an adult11 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult10 ftwide
About 11 ft tall and 10 ft wide at maturity: about twice as tall as an adult.

See Royal Purple in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Royal Purple

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Give Royal Purple about 10 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.

Clear ground around it
10 ft in every direction

Add Royal Purple to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Good to know about Royal Purple

Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.

Safety

Related to poison ivy; contact with the resinous sap may cause contact dermatitis, especially in people already sensitive to poison ivy. Wear gloves when pruning. per NC State

The Smokebush group

One of 7 in the Smokebush group. Same genus, similar care.

Featured in these guides

Explore similar plants

You might also like

Design a garden with this

Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.

Design a garden with this →