Fall is known for its majestic yellows, oranges, reds, and purples painting stunning Midwest landscapes. If you're looking to achieve autumn color in your landscape, but don't know where to start, here are McKay's top 14 fall color plant picks to give you some ideas.
1. Autumn Jazz Viburnum - Fall color includes a mix of yellow, orange, and red, as well as having clusters of blue-black fruit until October.
2. Autumn Brilliance (Cole’s Select) Serviceberry - Excellent glossy blue-green leaves turn a very characteristic and consistent brilliant red-orange in fall.
3. Cleveland Select Pear – Foliage turns brilliant red and purple, with some yellow on the inside in late fall - one of the last trees to put on its show.
4. Sumac Tiger Eyes – A beautiful plant. Its bright chartreuse leaflets change all season long to yellow and fiery orangey-red contrasting the pink stems.
5. Dwarf Burning Bush (Euonymus Alatus Compacta) – One of the best shrubs for fall color. In the sun, this plant turns an excellent long lasting rose-red throughout the fall season.
6. Maple Trees are well known for making a big statement in the fall. These trees offer gorgeous red, orange, or yellow fall season leaves. A few of our favorite varieties include Fall Fiesta Sugar Maple (classic red-orange), Autumn Fantasy Maple (fire engine on the top of the leaf, and soft pink on the undersides of the leaves for quite a show), Burgundy Belle Maple (brilliant red aging and intensifying to a beautiful burgundy), and Autumn Blaze Maple (the classic red that you see everywhere).
7. Northern Red Oak – Rich foliage turns a glossy bronze-red in the fall.
8. Bloodgood Japanese Maple - Fall color is a rich, scarlet red to complement its red-colored bark that adds winter interest as well.
9. Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla) – Bronze-green foliage turns reddish in fall.
10. Birchleaf Spirea – The fall brings a myriad of colors showing red, orange, and purple for an outstanding display. The Double Play Big Bang® Spirea is another fall favorite from the spirea family.
11. Northsky Blueberry – Not only are these great plants for their fruit, but their green leaves turn a marvelous red in the fall, making them a great ornamental plant to use in your landscape.
12. Flame Grass - The dark green leaves change to a bright red-orange in fall, and eventually fade to a silken white in winter. The feathery white seed heads appear in August and are showy and persist throughout the winter months – a fun addition to the winter landscape.
13. Autumn Gold Ginkgo - Leaves turn a uniform golden yellow in autumn, which makes for a spectacular view when backlit by early morning or late afternoon sun.
14. Black Chokeberry – In addition to the many amazing health benefits of the fruit. This is an excellent landscape shrub with multi-season interest. The dark, glossy leaves turn purple, orange, and dazzling red in fall. Our Proferssor Ed Chokeberry is another fall favorite.