My garden 2012

You're right, it grows more slowly than the purple one!

I was beginning to think my sandy soil was too dry, so added loads of manure and mulched the surrounding area. It is growing but so very slowly. Worth the wait. KS do you grow one?

Yes, I do indeed. It's been in for about 6 years and still only about 6' tall...not pruned at all. The leaves also seem to stay very small, and mine has hardly flowered at all. One or two plumes this year is all. I do love the colour though, it is so bright! :)

I'm growing it in quite a shady corner where it provides a bright splash of colour. Still slow growing though

Yes, I had the dark purple one in my old garden and thought I'd have a 'change' when I moved here. I prefer the bright colour, although I must admit my favourite is 'Grace'. The colours on her are just superb!

I grew the Golden Spirit to balance the similarly coloured Choysia ternata 'Sundance' at the other end of my long thin garden. Hi Karen, in terms of the purple Cotinus, is there much of a difference between Royal Purple and Grace? Nicky

Well, that's a good question. In my experience, Grace is much paler and redder in colour and the leaves are bigger. It's harder to grow though. My first two died, but I wouldn't give up! Royal Purple was no bother whatsoever and romped away happily with very dark leaves and nice flowers, lots of them. It seemed more compact as well. Having said all that, I've not had RP in this garden, only GS and Grace, so it's not the most reliable of comparisons.