Cool Plants

Fall Color Edition

The Cornus family, or Dogwood, provide excellent fall color. Red and Yellow Twig Dogwoods are actually prized for the color of their stems, hence the name. Planting them en mass provides a striking effect of vertical lines. Also, planting them against a wall or fence can really make them pop out. Check out the following varieties.

Cornus sericea 'Midwinter Fire'
'Midwinter Fire' features clusters of white flowers and mid-green leaves, which turn orange-yellow in autumn before falling to reveal splendid, red-tipped, orange-yellow winter stems. This exciting new variety of dogwood provides a bold splash of color in the winter garden. It's excellent near water with other colored-stemmed varieties of dogwood. It's best in full sun, and works particularly well with red or purple-stemmed varieties of dogwood.

Cornus sericea 'Midwinter Fire'

Cornus sericea 'Silver and Gold'

Cornus sericea 'Silver and Gold'
‘Silver and Gold’ is a cultivar that is primarily grown for its bold variegated foliage and its yellow winter stems. Its ovate to lanceolate, silvery green leaves are variegated with irregular creamy white margins. The leaves turn a rich yellow in autumn. The stems turn bright yellow in winter and are particularly showy against a snowy backdrop. Tiny white flowers appear in flat-topped clusters in late spring, with sparse, intermittent, additional flowering sometimes continuing into summer. The flowers give way to clusters of whitish (sometimes with a bluish tinge) drupes in late summer. The fruit is quite attractive to birds and is generally considered to have as much if not more ornamental interest than the flowers. Amazingly, this plant does well growing wet or dry, in sun or light shade. Try this plant against an evergreen or dark backdrop to really set off its brilliant branches.

Cornus sericea 'baileyi'
The most outstanding ornamental feature of ‘Baileyi’ is its bright-red winter stems which are particularly showy against our northwest gray skies. The best red color occurs on young stems. Other qualities include tiny white flowers in late spring that appear in flat-topped clusters, which are about 3 inches across. White fruit forms after the flowers in summer. The fruit is quite attractive to birds and is generally considered to be as ornamental as its flowers. Its ovate, dark green leaves reach 2-to-4 inches and turn an attractive reddish-purple in autumn. ‘Baileyi’ is effective used in naturalistic plantings in moist soils where plants are allowed to spread and form thickets.

Stewartia pseudocamellia
A multi-stemmed, deciduous tree with a rounded columnar form, stewartia features stunning bark that exfoliates in strips of gray, orange, and reddish brown. Serrated foliage emerges bronzy purple in spring and develops into a dark green by summer. It turns redish-orange in the fall. In midsummer, "glamorous" white camellia-like flowers open in random succession and are followed by pointed brown seed pods. This tree grows somewhat slowly until established, eventually reaching up to 40 feet tall and 20 feet wide. It's an excellent specimen tree.

Cornus sericea 'baileyi'

Amelanchier grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance'

Amelanchier grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance'
Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry is covered in stunning clusters of white flowers rising above the foliage in early spring before the leaves. It has dark green foliage throughout the season. The oval leaves turn an outstanding brick red in the fall. It produces blue berries in late spring. The smooth gray bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape. This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats.

Vaccinium
Blueberry bushes are one of those ornamental fruiting shrubs that can serve a dual purpose in the landscape. Blueberries are usually planted for their fruit crop, but with the increasing interest in "edible landscapes", they have increased their popularity in mixed borders and gardens. Most vaccinium species, even hybridized cultivars, have beautiful fall foliage making them a valid choice for a colorful autumn garden. Gardeners may choose to leave the fruit on the bush to encourage song birds and other wildlife in the garden. Fall foliage on blueberry plants will usually be a bright orange or red color. Blueberry shrubs need acidic, moist soil and do well planted with Camellias or Azaleas as they share similar soil requirements.

Blueberry bush in Fall.

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'
'Royal Purple' gets its common names, smoke bush or smoke tree, from its panicles of spent flowers that appear like puffs of smoke around the plant. As summer draws near, the leaves turn purple, almost black, a nice contrast to the red veins and edging of the leaf margins. Cotinus ‘Royal Purple’ has leaves which change color throughout the seasons, starting out in spring sporting its new fresh attire of maroon-red. In fall, its fashion statement appears in shades of scarlet. However, in order to insure you get the most intense color display, select your tree when it turns color in autumn. For the best fall color, keep watering and fertilizing to a minimum.

Come check out these great plants plus all the others we've got in stock!