Question of the Week — November 5, 2008
What Are Your Top Three Plants for Great Fall Color?
Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine!
Topics:
fall color,
Plants
American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
Crinum ‘Rhubarb’
Candy Corn Plant (Cuphea micropetala) This is my latest fav.
My friend KK gave it to me in the spring and I just remembered it. So cool…
Steve,
I’ll have to start with the trees. Maples of all kinds. The red ones are blazing in our garden right now. The Gingko with its bright gold color. I wish I had one! The third choice gets harder since there are so many options. I’ll venture to the realm of the grasses then and pick the Pink muhly grass.
Wow, Dave, those are some good choices. Pink muhly grass throws us into a whole other realm. Most people don’t even consider choosing perennials for colorful fall foliage. I, being the wise, insightful, and terribly sensitive Grump, do. So here’s what I consider the best perennial for fall color. Drum roll please…………………..Hubricht’s bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii). Every year, its long, needlelike leaves turn screaming yellow. It’s also easy to grow, has no pests, and tolerates drought better than any perennial I have. Oh yes, it has pretty blue flowers in the spring too.
My 3 crape myrtle ‘Tuscarora’ look pretty spectacular this morning.
Agreed — I have at least 6 amsonia hubrichtii. I’ve got to move a few out away from a buddleia that overshadows as those amsonia are still green.
I’m waiting for my itea ‘Little Henry’ (7) to finish turning bright red.
Still in bloom — Encore Azaleas, KO Roses, coneflowers, white butterfly ginger, salvia greggii (with pink muhly), salvia ‘Black& blue’, agastache ‘purple haze’ and ‘salmon & pink’
Cameron
The trees are really dropping today. This has been a really spectacular fall. The ‘Legacy’ sugar maple out front that I planted 13 years ago with the promise of bright golden-orange fall color finally did its thing. Of course, I told it in no uncertain terms that if it didn’t turn a nice color this fall, I was going to cut it down. Threats work!
Before I reveal the other two of my top three plants for fall color, anybody out there care to speculate why fall color is great in some years and stinks in others?
Forgive me GG, but I view the fall tree glory as a gimme. And senescence is sexy. I don’t take it for granted, I cherish our falls. What the trees do for me is elevate my excitement of being out doors. The specific of the species is not important TO ME, but rather the melody of yellows and reds. I makes me want to be outside. While I’m out there, I want my garden to continue to excite me. So much is going on the garden such as the salvias, asters, mums, herbs, the roses, and of course the fig, Crepe Mrytles, Japanese Maples, Sugar Maples, Elms, and more. I want it all. For me are the trees are the canvas to it all, the backdrop, the reason to be outside, now that I’m there…
Geez — all I did was ask you for your three favorite plants for fall color. Now it seems I have some kind of personality disorder. OK, just for that, I’m not going to list the Grump’s other favorite plants. And make no mistake — these are plants that would have saved literally hundreds of lives, but we’re not going to talk about them here. I hope you’re happy!!! All humanity has to suffer because of you!!
No way, that’s not fair. You can’t just take you toys and go home! Can you?
Your mewling apology has soothed the Grump’s wrath. Therefore, he will reveal his other picks.
Best red fall color — ‘October Glory’ red maple (Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’). Yeah, I know — ‘October Glory’ is ubiquitous, at least in the Southeast. But that’s because nothing matches it for luminous, saturated scarlet fall foliage every single year. When it’s at its peak, usually here the first week of November, it’s twice as flaming as Richard Simmons and a lot less annoying.
Best yellow fall color — Ginkgo. Boy, wasn’t that obvious? Frankly, hickory matches it for both color and dependability, but you can’t buy hickory, you have to inherit it. Now for those of you who are still steaming about Hillary, don’t read this part — when planting a ginkgo, always choose a male. That’s because females bear fruit that stink to high heaven when they start to rot on the ground.
Anyone care to desbribe the odor usuing a creative analogy?
Good Choices! My ‘October Glory’ is in all its Glory now. I don’t have a Ginko, but saw one today and was reminded how stunning he is.