Cotinus obovatus....the seeds from Tennessee have germinated

     

If you've ever listened to me rhapsodize about this, our native Smoke Tree, or read anything I'be written about it you've probably already stopped reading or you're dreading the embarrassment to come. Relax, I'm just going talk about the seed. (For rhapsodizing...)

We collected these seeds with Don Shadow, nurseryman extraordinaire, and owner of the largest private Zoo I've ever seen or heard of. Don is one of the top plantsmen in the country so we were grateful to him for directing us to the Cotinus, one of our target species on the Tennessee/Alabama trip. The plants didn't have a lot of seeds but after extensive searching we turned up a small amount. Joan acid scarified the seeds, and according to the label, planted them September 22 last year. The seedlings aren't on my normal flight path so I hadn't noticed them. Joan mentioned them this week so I had to take a look. There are about a dozen so far and this, the largest, is already identifiable as a Cotinus. The leaf shape and the margins are fairly definitive and the leaves are already beginning to assume the characteristic luminosity I like so much.