We all appreciate the fall colors of trees and shrubs that are most ubiquitous in landscapes — Dogwood, Sugar Maple, Burning Bush Euonymous. (In fact, the latter shrub is quite invasive and, frankly, does not provide much interest in other seasons).

Here are some of my favorites for excellent fall color, recommended partly because they offer special interest during other seasons as well (e.g.  pretty flowers or ornamental bark that stands out in the winter).

Trees.  Starting at the highest plane, there are many deciduous trees that provide a focal point for an area of the landscape and particularly stand out in autumn by displaying brilliant foliage, in addition to other attributes to grace various seasons, be it colorful flowers or bark.

Kousa Dogwood

Dawn Redwood

Paperbark Maple

Crabapple

The Cornus kousa (Chinese Dogwood) offers lovely white flowers in early summer, and beautiful exfoliating bark in a mixture of cream and gray splotches.  The large berries provide color in September before the fall foliage in red or purple hues.  Resistant to disease that plagues other Dogwoods, the Kousa provides outstanding 4-season interest in a small flowering tree.

The Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood) is a larger specimen that, while a deciduous conifer, is very ornamental in winter by virtue of its reddish brown exfoliating bark that stands out in the winter landscape.  The orangish- to reddish-brown needles in fall appear to be on fire, and then settle nicely at the base of the tree to provide mulch and colorful interest into the winter.

Acer griseum (Paperbark Maple) is another small tree, ideal as a picturesque specimen close to the front of the house, providing interest in all seasons.  True to its common name, this maple produces striking copper-red bark that exfoliates dramatically (like peeling paper).  The rich bark stands out when the tree produces its outstanding red leaf color and during the summer with the delicate foliage that covers a shapely, graceful tree habit.

There are numerous Malus (Crabapple) species that provide stunning red to orange fall foliage, as well as ornamental fruit, outstanding floral displays in summer, and ornamental peeling bark through the year.  There are many maples that provide year round interest in addition to outstanding fall color.  The Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’ (Fullmoon maple) — just 8-10 feet in stature, can fit easily most anywhere.  This and other maples sport foliage that turns a brilliant array of intense colors in fall — from red-brown, to striking red, to brilliant scarlet to purple.

Shrubs.  Shrubs fill in the important middle layer, and there are outstanding choices to use in groupings or as specimens.  Some of the most colorful for fall foliage are:  (1) Chionanthus virginicus (White Fringetree), a native multi-stemmed small tree or large shrub that glows a vivid yellow in the fall; (2) Hamamelis x intermedia (a hybrid Witchhazel) with varieties producing winter flowers in yellow, copper or red, after an outstanding fall foliage display in orange and red; and (3) Fothergilla gardenii (Dwarf Fothergilla), a nicely compact native shrub with leaves that glow brilliantly for several weeks in the fall, capping off multi-season interest by its rich corrugated summer leaves and prolific ‘bottle-brush’ white flowers in early summer.

Fothergilla gardenii ‘Mt. Airy’

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’ (Witchhazel)

Chionanthus virginicus (White Fringetree)

Ajania pacifica

Amsonia hubrichtii

Perennials.  There are many perennials that provide interest into the fall — primarily with late year blossoms.  One of the latest flowering perennials is Ajania pacifica (Gold-and-Silver Chrysanthemum) that flowers through November.  While its foliage does not produce fall color, this perennial provides interest from spring through fall (and often through winter) with attractive variegated foliage (stem and underleaf is bright white/silver), and leaf edge is white/silver).  An outstanding perennial for fall foliage is the Amsonia hubrichtii (Arkansas Bluestar), a large, nearly shrub-sized perennial that glows a brilliant golden yellow well into fall.  This plant is also a star in spring when it displays panicles of tiny sky-blue flowers (‘blue-star’), and through the summer its soft willow-like mid-green leaves, reminiscent of asparagus fern, provide an excellent contrast to surrounding broadleaf plants.

All photos by Connie Bowers taken of plants she installed

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Plant Clean Up. Key to promoting your garden’s health is removal of plant debris that shows signs of fungus or insect damage, to prevent infecting the soil and other plants. Be sure to send this material to the trash, rather than recycling. You should disinfect your pruner blades with bleach after contact with diseased plant material to prevent carry over to other plants. If not cleaned up, problem pests will otherwise overwinter in dead material and infect plants the following spring. Non-evergreen perennial foliage should be cut back to within 6” of the ground once it deteriorates. Beware that certain plants are cold sensitive and should not have their foliage cut back until the end of winter.

Leaf Removal. Be sure to rake leaves from lawns and gardens. A thick leaf layer can smother and kill grass and create a habitat for disease or insects. The leaf mat will absorb moisture and turn into a dense, soggy mass lying against the stems of plants. This constantly wet environment can soften bark and break down stems, making them vulnerable to pests, disease, and frost breaks. It is recommended to chop leaves on the lawn with a mulching mower and leave them to add trace elements to the soil as they decompose. It is also good to reapply chopped leaves to the garden bed as mulch. They should be shredded finely, however, which may mean going through the vacuum or shredder two times. Of course, chopped leaves, combined with green plant trimmings, are the basic ingredients of compost.

Transplanting & Dividing. Some plants can be divided in fall if needed (rampant spreading, dying center) provided the plant bloomed in spring or early summer. For hardy plants, division and transplanting may be useful at this time while the plant is fully visible and a need for reorganization is fresh in mind. The cooler fall temperatures are gentler on delicate transplants.

Remove Peony foliage with fungus and dispose in the trash.

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After the hose is drained, it should be coiled tightly (in a 24-36” diameter).  Place the hose on the ground and, starting with the end that attaches to the hose bibb, begin coiling (there is a natural direction – if it doesn’t seem to wrap easily, try the opposite way).  Coiling is easier when the hose is warm – so let is sit in the sun for a bit.  (Since it is typically too cold outside to warm up my hoses by the time I get to store them, I let them sit on the basement floor – after they are drained – until they warm up, before coiling them.)   Make sure all kinks are out of the hose before storing (or any other time).  Tie the coiled hoses to neatly secure them with rope or Velcro ties.  And, of course, remove and separately store hose nozzles and sprinklers.

Hoses are best stored off of the ground, on a hook or shelf where they get good air circulation.  Otherwise fungus can develop and cause rotting.  (Time and time again, when watering for folks, I have noticed a distinct mildew odor coming from a hose.    Spraying fungus on or around plants cannot be beneficial.)  It is also recommended to connect the male and female ends together to prevent insects from getting inside the hose (make sure the hoses are dry before doing this.)

This is the time to carefully insect your hoses for cracks or rotting.  Breaks in hoses are easy and inexpensive to repair.  It is worth investing it top quality hoses that are of ample size (length and diameter) and weight, that will not kink, and that will, instead, allow good water flow.   You’ll enjoy a lifetime or very lengthy warranty on the better hoses – so save the packaging card.  Before or after storage is a good time to inspect and replace washers.  Worm washers are the most frequent cause of annoying and wasteful hose leaks.

Important note:  evergreen trees and shrubs need to be watered through the end of December if they were planted during the year.  Therefore, draining and hose storage may need to be delayed until that time, or stored temporarily in a garage or shed to be handy for watering use until that time, when they can be drained and stored finally.  Lastly, if you shut off your outside water for the winter, please correctly drain your hose bibb – and  even if you have a frost-free bibb, the hoses need to be brought in to a warmer place during the winter – and just taken out to use as needed.

Read more on this subject in my interview by a Washington Post writer for an article on garden hoses that was published in many newspapers, including the Hong Kong Standard. Here are Excerpts from the Article.

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