When thinking about fall color, don’t limit your attention to the typical trees like oaks and maples.  There are many trees that provide fall color.  And there are also shrubs and perennials!  Here are some tips to help you expand your thinking about fall color.

1.  Include asters and goldenrods.

Asters bloom late in the season and often past frost. The hues of goldenrods are symbolic of fall, and they don’t cause allergies.  There are asters for sun and asters for shade.  Tall asters and short asters.  Pink, white, purple, all shades of blue asters.  There are also goldenrods for sun or shade, tall ones and low growing ones.  Asters and goldenrods are known as the ‘garden superfoods’ because of the late season power punch the provide for pollinators.

2.  Plant late blooming perennials.

In addition to asters and goldenrods,  late blooming perennials are Lobelia cardinals (cardinal flower) , Heuchera villosa (Hairy alumroot) , Boltonia (Thousand Flowered Aster), Chelone glabra (Turtlehead) , Chrysopsis villosa (Hairy Golden Aster) and  all the warm season grasses.

3.  Perennials add fall color with their foliage, too!

Consider perennials whose foliage turns to vivid fall color:  Amsonia (vivid yellow), Wild Geranium (reds and oranges),  ferns (many turn beautiful yellow), Monarda bradburiana

4. Add shrubs with color.

Shrubs with good fall color – native azaleas, Aronia (chokeberry), Blueberry, fotheFilla (witch alder), Clethra (Summersweet),  Itea (Sweetspire), viburnums, and all the sumacs.  PS the native true sumacs are NOT poisonous and provide important habitat for birds.  Aromatic sumac in particular is a wonderful garden shrub with good fall color.

5.  Think seeds and berries.

Think about the attractive seed heads or fruit that many shrubs offer – hips on native roses, berries on winterberry hollies, seed heads of  Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccafolium) are just a few.

6. Yes, of course, trees provide fall color too.

Finally, yes there are trees with fall color – oaks, maples, bald cypress, sourwood, pawpaw, elm, beech, and others.  Fall is a great time to plant these trees also.

Stop in today to select the plants that will perk up your fall landscape.  For a list of what is currently in stock, click here.