9 Trees and Shrubs for Beautiful Fall Colour
What do you envision when someone mentions the fall? We’ll bet it involves a blazing red, orange, and yellow backdrop! It’s no secret that we owe it to the trees and shrubs that line our neighbourhoods for that brilliant colour—and if there’s anything you can’t overdo, it’s fall colour in your landscape. Adding these fabulous trees and shrubs to your front or backyard will surely bring autumnal bliss to you and your neighbours for many years to come.
1. Japanese Maple ‘Osakazuki’
This compact Japanese maple can be trained into either tree or shrub form—just one of the ways this beauty is so versatile. While you can find many Japanese maple varieties in residential landscapes throughout our province, ‘Osakazuki’ is said to have the most intense red hues of them all.
2. Red Osier Dogwood
Every season is great for red osier dogwood, especially the fall. Its flat-topped white flower clusters in spring and white summer berries are a favourite feature of local pollinators and birds, but the fall colour of this large shrub really stands out thanks to its dark red to purple foliage that nearly matches its bright red stems; this is one of the few deciduous shrubs that adds a big pop of colour to the winter landscape.
3. Red Maple
We love a landscape plant with multi-season interest! Red maple is aptly named, with showy red buds in the wintertime, red springtime flowers, and exceptional red foliage in the fall. This tree is also fairly fast-growing, so your whole block will soon be able to enjoy its glorious autumn show.
4. Ginkgo Biloba
This ancient tree is as distinct as it is beautiful. Fan-shaped foliage turns to a bright gorgeous shade of golden yellow in autumn. This tree is also known for its high tolerance to saltier conditions, making it an ideal selection for those living near the shore.
5. Autumn Blaze Maple
They don’t call them ‘Autumn Blaze’ for nothin’! The foliage of this exceptional maple tree is an absolute showstopper in autumn, with shades of orange, red, and gold. This cultivar is a cross between the silver maple and the aforementioned red maple. Its excellent pollution tolerance makes it a great selection for high-traffic neighbourhoods.
6. Oakleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea summer flowers are iconic, but the oakleaf variety is a multi-season stunner. The shrub’s attractive lobed leaves take on a deep burgundy tone in the fall, contrasting with its white or blush-coloured summertime inflorescence.
7. Virginia Sweetspire
The heavenly fragrance of this delightful shrub’s springtime flowers would be enough to win the affections of any gardener, but its rich autumn colours will truly make you ‘fall’ in love! Its multi-tonal red and purple leaves are simply dazzling and remain on the shrub’s branches well into winter.
8. Smokebush
If you haven’t seen a smokebush shrub bloom, we can only describe it as ‘otherwordly.’ While it’s hard to imagine anything topping this shrub’s fascinating smoke-like plumes, its multicoloured fall foliage is truly remarkable. Depending on the variety and how far into the season, you might catch glimpses of pink, green, red, yellow, or purple.
9. Saskatoon Berry
Topping the list is an extra-special treat! Saskatoon berries, which also go by “serviceberries” and “juneberries,” are beautiful at just about every time of year. Grown as either small ornamental trees or large shrubs, you’ll love the delicate white flowers in spring, delicious edible fruit in summer, and of course, exceptional fall colour—the autumn foliage takes on stunning shades of red and orange. The smooth, almost-silver bark is also attractive in the winter landscape.
Are you interested in gorgeous fall shrubs and trees in Powell River? Plan your visit to our nursery to browse our selection before they’re gone!