), each year there's a big decision to make: to cut or not to cut. Cutting it back sharply – not just light pruning but whacking it off about a foot high, a technique known as stooling -- controls its ...

A. Hardy to Zones 4 to 5, neither the species nor cultivated varieties of smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria) actually needs to be cut back. They are winter-hardy shrubs and, unlike perennials, the ...