Five Great Plants for Fall
Here are some plants growing at Minnetrista that provide color and interest during the fall season.
European Smoke Bush (Cotinus coggygria)
This small tree or shrub reaches 10 to 15 feet in height. Its leaves turn a striking bright red in the fall. ‘Grace,’ a cultivar growing at Minnetrista, is actually a cross between European smoke bush and American smoke tree. American smoke trees are taller than European smoke bush and also have bright fall colors.
European smokebush can be coppiced annually once established. This produces tall, vertical shoots, as seen in the following picture.
Coppiced smoke bushes from above, at the Cinncinnati Zoo.
Leadwort (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides)
This awesome groundcover does well in sun or shade. It produces long-lasting, blue flowers. They look especially attractive against the plant’s bright red fall foliage. The foliage doesn’t hold up in freezing weather, so we shear this low-growing plant back to the ground in late fall or early winter.
Leadwort, also known as plumbago, at Minnetrista.
Strawberry Seduction Yarrow (Achillea millefolium ‘Strawberry Seduction’)
This yarrow produces loads of beautiful red blooms in late spring and early summer, and then reblooms again in late summer. The blooms fade to a light brown that is attractive in combination with the red blooms. This yarrow really goes the extra mile—it is still looking great even after a hard freeze.
American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
This shade tree with star-shaped leaves produces great fall color. Colors range from yellow to red to purple. If you’re not a fan of cleaning up the spikey seed pods, or are short on space, consider planting the cultivar ‘Slender Silhouette.’ It doesn’t produce as many seed pods and its columnar form means they fall over a much smaller area. ‘Slender Silhouette’ grows 35 to 50 feet tall and only 4-feet wide. We are going to be adding a few of these trees to Minnetrista’s Moon Garden next spring.
Redbud Crabapple (Malus x zumi ‘Calocarpa’)
This small tree is a good alternative to crabapples and hawthorns. It has less disease problems and doesn’t have hawthorns’ painful thorns. Bright, red berries grace its branches in fall and early winter. In the spring, its branches are packed with fragrant white blooms. It’s a shorter tree—ranging from 12 to 20 feet tall—and has a dense, round canopy.
A redbud crabapple with bright red berries.
Consider adding one of these colorful plants to your landscape!
