Gardening Article
September 25, 2004
Danny Lauderdale
Horticulture Agent
NC Cooperative Extension Service
Pitt County

Plants for Fall Color

Fall is for planting. I am sure you have heard it before. What would fall be without plants showing off their beautiful fall foliage color. Since fall is the time for planting, what better time to write about plants that have great fall color. There are many plants that have great fall color. I am mentioning just a few of my favorites.

My first suggestion is a vine, Bignonia capreolata, commonly called Crossvine. Crossvine has opposite, semi-evergreen to evergreen leaves 2 to 6 inches long and up to 2 inches wide. Leaves are lustrous dark green in summer but turn to an eye catching reddish purple in fall and winter. Crossvine will climb by tendrils 30 to 50 feet and will grow in full sun or partial shade. The plant does produce brownish red to orange flowers in April-May. This is truly a wonderful plant for climbing a fence or arbor. It is native to eastern North Carolina and therefore is easy to grow and enjoy here.

Ginkgo biloba, commonly called Ginkgo, is a wonderful tree for fall color in the landscape. Ginkgo has wonderful fan shaped leaves 2 to 3 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide. Leaves are a bright green in summer and turn striking yellow in fall. Ginkgo will grow slowly to 50 to 80 feet high and 30 to 40 feet wide. One other plant characteristic to consider with Ginko is sex. Female Ginkgo trees produce a plum-like fruit that is messy and stinks. A college professor of mine described the fruit smell like raw dog vomit (as opposed to cooked dog vomit I guess?). Trust me you do not want a female ginkgo near your home. Choose a male cultivar like 'Autumn Gold', 'Canopy', 'Fairmount', 'Lakeview', 'Magyar', 'Mayfield', 'Palo Alto', 'The President', 'Santa Cruz', 'Saratoga', or 'Windover Gold'. The foliage is a unique shape and branch structure tends to be sparse. I mention this because Ginkgo is one of those plants you either love or hate. Ginkgo is a tough tree and a true survivor in the landscape. We have a Ginkgo in the tree planting located in front of the Pitt County Agricultural Center. Give it a look and see what you think.

Next up is my favorite Hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, the Oakleaf Hydrangea. Oakleaf Hydrangea has lobed leaves up to 8 inches long and 6 inches wide. This large leaf gives a coarse texture. Fall color is red, orange-brown, and purple. Oakleaf Hydrangea grows 4 to 8 feet high and 4 to 8 feet wide. Flowers are whie and occur in May and June. Plants do best in partial shade and make a great massing plant for natural areas. Numerous cultivars are available.

Itea virginica, Virginia Sweetspire, is not widely known by home gardeners. Virginia Sweetspire has 2 to 4 inch long and 1 inch wide leaves with fine serrations along the edge. Leaves are medium to dark green in summer and yellow, orange, reddish purple, scarlet and crimson in the fall. The plant grows 5 to 10 feet high and normally wider. Virginia Sweetspire is native to moist areas along stream banks but has excellent drought tolerance and will grow in full sun or shade. White flowers occur in May and are quite attractive. Great plant for naturalizing in moist areas. 'Henry's Garnet' and 'Little Henry' are the two most popular cultivars.

Most people wince when I mention this next plant, Liquidambar styraciflua, American Sweetgum, but it might be one of the best trees for fall color and durability. American Sweetgum has leaves that are star shaped with 5 to 7 serrated lobes. Leaves are dark green in summer and change to yellow, purple or red in fall. Fall color can be quite variable depending on genetics so choose a cultivar with this attribute. The tree grows 60 to 75 feet high and 40 to 60 feet wide. The wincing I mentioned occurs due to the fact American Sweetgum produces an aggregate fruit most people call a sweetgum ball. The fruit can be quite annoying when they drop on the lawn. Therefore I don't recommend it for a lawn tree. Its place in the landscape should be in a mulched natural area where you don't have to worry about sending sweetgum projectiles flying when the lawn is mowed. A fruitless cultivar called 'Rotundiloba' with rounded lobes is available but may revert to produce fruit (fruiting branches should be pruned out). Give this large tree plenty of room to grow as it will do so quickly and is tolerant of the toughest landscape sites.

The last plant on my list for today is Pistachia chinensis, Chinese Pistache. This small tree is basically unknown to home gardeners. Leaves are compound with 10 to 20 leaflets. Leaves are dark green like most in summer, but becomes a fabulous yellow-orange to orange-red in fall. The tree grows 30 to 35 feet high and 25 to 35 feet wide at a medium to fast rate. Grows best in moist, well drained soil (but aren't most landscape plants described this way) but is stree tree tough. Takes full sun and is drought tolerant. A plant I remember from my college days at Auburn University was 20 to 25 feet tall and 15 to 20 feet wide and growing a parking lot island no bigger than 10 feet by 10 feet. The fall color would literally stop me in my tracks.

Check local nurseries for these plants, if they don't have them, request to have some special ordered. Fall is a wonderful time to enjoy the landscape. Take some time to get out and enjoy the wonders of nature in fall. I strongly suggest a walk at the Greenway or River Park North in Greenville. For home lawn and garden information give the Pitt County master Gardener Volunteers a call at 902-1705 or email them at pittcomgv@hotmail.com.