After years of focusing on spring blooms, plant breeders have introduced some impressive new plants for fall color.  These plants are sometimes overlooked by consumers; many people only buy what looks good in spring. Getting them to appreciate a plant for its fall foliage is a heavy lift! It's often up to professionals to steer them towards the plants that will make their property beautiful for the rest of the year. 

Some plants make it easy: they are appealing in both spring and fall. Deutzia is one such plant. It's covered in dainty flowers in spring and then develops purple foliage in fall. Yuki Cherry Blossom® 2.0 is an improvement over the original Yuki Cherry Blossom® with better color in its pink flowers and a low-growing habit that's ideal for mass plantings. Yuki Cherry Blossom 2.0 grows just 1-2' tall and 2-3' wide; it can be trimmed after flowering, but heavy pruning isn't necessary. Deutzia is adaptable to most soils as long as they are well-drained. A bonus is that it has good deer resistance. 

Another plant with both spring and fall appeal is Fothergilla. Legend of the Small® is a dwarf form of this beloved native plant. It delivers the same bottlebrush flowers in spring and orange-red foliage in fall as other Fothergilla but grows just 2-2.5' tall and 2-4' wide. It's easy to fit into any landscape. In the southeast it will want part shade; be sure that it gets regular water, but the soil is well-drained. 

Fothergilla Legend of the Small

Oakleaf hydrangea is another popular native plant. Since the species can get quite large, a compact form like Gatsby Glow Ball® is useful, especially for residential designs. It grows 3-4' tall and wide. That's about a third of the size of the species.   Growers will appreciate that it is faster growing than other dwarf varieties, and everyone will like its well-branched, full habit. As the name suggests, Gatsby Glow Ball has outstanding fall color. It prefers moist, well-drained soil: remember that soil pH does not affect its flower color. Some afternoon shade is a good idea in the southeast. 

Hydrangea quercifolia Gatsby Glow Ball

Leucothoe, or doghobble, is yet another native plant with outstanding fall color. Paisley Pup® is an exceptionally colorful selection of this broadleaf evergreen. The foliage cycles through pink, red, green, and white during the year and settles into a robust burgundy, cream, and green medley in autumn. At 3-4' tall and 4-5' wide, it is an outstanding mass planting for moist, acidic, well-drained soils. Highly deer resistant and shade tolerant, this is a solution plant for many landscape challenges. 

Paisley Pup Leucothoe

Leucothoe Paisley Pup

One final native plant with good fall color is Diervilla. Kodiak® Red 2.0 is a newer introduction that has rich red new growth and crimson fall foliage. It's a good choice for mass plantings and will grow quite happily in poor soils, including dry and/or alkaline ones. Like other Diervilla it will grow well in shade although the color may not be as robust in deep shade as it is in part- or dappled shade. 

It's not all about foliage. A new Callicarpa, Bubble Up®, produces a heavy crop of violet fruit in fall. The berries arrive a bit earlier than those of other beautyberry varieties and form showy clumps along the stems. Bubble Up has a useful upright habit that not only shows off the fruit nicely but makes the plant a good fit for many landscapes. At 4-6' tall and 2-3' wide, its columnar shape is good as either a specimen plant or a narrow hedge. Bonus: it's extremely deer resistant. 

Finally, take a look at Heptacodium. Temple of Bloom® Seven son flower has been around for a while but is growing in popularity. It's easy to see why. It has fragrant late summer flowers that are a bonanza for pollinators in need of late season food. While the flowers are great, the big ornamental show is its cherry-red bracts in fall. Temple of Bloom® (15-20' tall, 6-10' wide) is more compact than the species and blooms a little earlier, so there's a longer fall display. Heptacodium is an outstanding small tree for residential designs and is rugged enough to be used in commercial landscapes, too.  

You can learn more about these and other new varieties at https://www.provenwinnerscolorchoice.com/