What to plant for amazing fall color.
A Michelle ism, Your garden never closes! So many shrubs, trees and perennials are available to brighten up your fall. I am recommending some easy care favorites you may want to tuck into your home landscape right now.
The trees and shrubs below are my most reliable choices. These plants are also generally well behaved and do well in a range of conditions. All of them dazzle in the fall, and as a bonus, many also put on a show in other seasons too. Some will extend their interest with flowers in the spring or summer, some have fruit later in the year, and many have interesting bark in the winter.
Because Alec will never forgive me if I do not, I have also added some great fall perennials to the list. In his defense, it is worth noting that unless you have a large property, some of the larger growing trees are best enjoyed while driving through the countryside rather than planted near your home. Regardless of your space constraints, picking a few beauties from the list below and grouping them strategically through out your yard will definitely add that fall pop of color every garden needs.
Blueberry
They are not just for eating! When the dainty bell flowers of spring and the juicy berries of summer are just memories, blueberries continue to delight with leaves that turn yellow, orange, or wine red in fall. Blueberries will tolerate some shade and even do well in wet soils. An easy, easy, easy pick for so many reasons!
Red Twig Dogwood
Gardeners grow red twig dogwoods mostly for the color of the stems once the leaves drop. But the leaves of most var
ieties also turn brilliant red or reddish purple before they fall. Red-twig dogwoods with variegated foliage vary in fall color. All types have clusters of white flowers in spring and white to red purple fruit that birds enjoy.
Maple
No list of fall foliage plants would be complete without maple trees. Sugar maple, Acer. saccharum is the quintessential stalwart in New England, where hillsides of them turn gorgeous shades of red, orange, and yellow. Sugar maples can grow up to 75 feet tall and 40 feet wide. If your yard can not handle that, consider other kinds of maples that also have strikingly colorful leaves in fall. The smaller Japanese maple, Acer palmatum is a great choice and offers distinctive foliage and color all summer.
Redbud
Despite its name, this small tree bears bright pinkish purple spring flowers before its heart-shaped leaves appear. Most varieties turn yellow in fall. The eastern redbud, Cercis canadensis Forest Pansy is one of the few with reddish purple fall foliage. In winter, long mahogany seed pods cling to bare branches. With its varied seasonal interest and its ability to grow in light shade, redbud provides a great contrast next to evergreens.
Katsura
With dainty branches that become dense with rounded leaves, katsuras make great shade trees all summer, then put on a show of yellow or pinkish yellow in fall. Around the time leaves fall, the tree produces a fragrance that some call spicy; others compare it to brown sugar. They have always smelled like cotton candy to me! Katsuras have a pyramid shape when young but over time may become as wide as they are tall, up to 40 feet. There are also weeping forms that look particularly beautiful when the branches are bare in winter.
Smoke Bush
Also known as smoketree, this plant can be allowed to grow as a shrub or be pruned as a small tree. Small yellow flowers open in June. As they fade long stalks with fuzzy pink hairs spring out, creating the impression that the plant is surrounded by purple to pinkish tan smoke. These fade away by fall, when the leaves turn yellow or orange red. Royal Purple has purple foliage that turns scarlet red and is one of my personal favorites.
Forsythia
No, I have not misplaced this from a spring list. From fiery reds to brilliant yellows, these easy-to-grow shrubs will shine in your garden. Over the past few years new cultivars have been introduced that are dwarf, easy to grow, covered with spring yellow blossoms and show the most intense fall reds I have seen! You really need to take another look at forsythia!
New England Aster
Delicate looking flowers on ultra tough plants that tolerate just about any soil type. Most grow to 2 feet tall and produce huge clusters of pink, white, lavender or blue flowers from late summer until a hard fall frost.
Coneflower
Colorful and super tough, Ruby Star is my favorite purple with large pinkish purple blooms with pronounced coppery centers. New introductions include shades of orange, red and yellow! Adding any of these big, bright flowers to your gardens will most certainly extend your color late into the fall season. Dead heading can also help to promote repeat blooming.
Black Eyed Susan
Tall and showy with intense yellow flowers from late summer through fall. This easy to grow native also makes a great cut flower for bringing the colors of fall indoors.
Autumn Sedum
So showy and versatile, sedums can add interest all season but they excel at fall color. Sedum are incredibly drought tolerant and have an interesting succulent type foliage even when they are not flowering. I leave the blossoms on mine all winter for added interest in my garden and to provide some extra food for the birds.
A quick note on your garden design. Do not cheat yourself by planting only evergreens. If you are afraid your garden will look too bare come winter, use this method. Sandwich deciduous shrubs, those that offer fall color and then lose their leaves, between taller and shorter plants that keep their leaves year round. It is an easy design trick to avoid a monoculture of one type of evergreen lined up in a row like soldiers!
Fall really is for planting! Get out there and enjoy!
Michelle and Team Lakeview
