(Photo is from the web, photographer credit not available)
One of my favorite shrub trees is the Royal Purple Smoke Tree. It is native to some of the southern states but appears as a specimen shrub in yards all over the USA. There are four large bushes on the east side of my patio and they have suffered bouts of Verticillium wilt disease since I planted them. Just when I think one of the bushes could not be any more beautiful, half or more of it dies away. Today I pruned back one of the trees until it was hideous. They are extraordinarily beautiful when healthy but had I known how susceptible they are to this disease I never would have chosen them; things with native roots in states like Tennessee often do not adjust well to life in northern Illinois. My Dad was like that.
One of my favorite shrub trees is the Royal Purple Smoke Tree. It is native to some of the southern states but appears as a specimen shrub in yards all over the USA. There are four large bushes on the east side of my patio and they have suffered bouts of Verticillium wilt disease since I planted them. Just when I think one of the bushes could not be any more beautiful, half or more of it dies away. Today I pruned back one of the trees until it was hideous. They are extraordinarily beautiful when healthy but had I known how susceptible they are to this disease I never would have chosen them; things with native roots in states like Tennessee often do not adjust well to life in northern Illinois. My Dad was like that.
Drainage is the key. Plant higher. I've had mine 8 years in a suburb of Chicago, with no leaf problems. Some winter dieback.
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