Trees for Fall and Winter Interest

By On November 15, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Japanese maple fall color

Extending property visual appeal into fall and winter helps create a four-season landscape. This can be accomplished by using trees with nice fall color, fruit set or attractive bark features. In New England we of course have our oaks, hickories and maples leading the way in fall foliage appeal.

There are, however, other tree species that have equally attractive fall color. Examples include: 1) tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) with orangish-red to deep red fall color 2) Katsuratree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) with a yellow to yellow with hints of red fall color 3) dogwoods including flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) and Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) with a deep red fall color 4) Franklin tree (Franklinia alatamaha) with an orangy-red to deep red fall color 5) ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) with yellow fall color

Franklin tree fall color

6) dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) often with fall foliage showing a reddish tinge 7) callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) with a reddish fall color 8.) Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) often have nice red fall color 9) paperbark maple (Acer griseum) with reddish fall color 10) sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) with a red fall color and 11) sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) with red fall color to mention a few.

Kousa dogwood fruit

Examples of trees with attractive fall fruit include: 1) Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) with large, raspberry-like red fruit 2) Corneliancherry dogwood (Cornus mas) with bright red, olive-shaped fruit 3) flowering crabapples (Malussp.) with red or yellow fruit and 4) Korean mountainash (Sorbus alnifolia) with small red fruit.

Trees with attractive bark extend the season of interest into winter. Examples include: 1) Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) with exfoliating smooth bark in shades of brown, tan and gray 2) Dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) with shredding reddish-brown bark with a fluted and buttressed tree base 3) paperbark maple (Acer griseum) with

Paperbark maple bark

exfoliating, cinnamon-brown bark 4) birches, including paper (Betula papyrifera) and river (Betula nigra) with white and exfoliating cinnamon-brown bark respectively and 5) Korean or Japanese stewartia (Stewatia koreana or Stewartia pseudocamellia) with exfoliating, smooth bark in shades of gray and brown to mention a few.

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