Panel data provided by Madison's Canadian Lumber Reporter.

Colours of the Season

By Jos Van Hage

This is has to be one of the most beautiful times of the year when you look at the beautiful changing colors of the foliage on trees and shrubs. 

Trees, shrubs and perennials that may have been ordinary throughout the summer, now come into their colorful glory as they get ready for winter. Leaves change color when the hours of daylight becomes shorter and temperatures become cooler causing the chlorophyll which gives leaves their green color to break down, thus showing the other color pigments in the leaves. 

Some trees/shrubs not only have beautiful foliage but also are adorned with fruits and berries. Trees such as ‘Chokecherry’ (Prunus virginiana), ‘Mountain Ash’ (Sorbus), and ‘Flowering or Ornamental Crabapple’ (Malus) all produce fall berries and fruit which not only look beautiful but also attract birds that enjoy eating the berries/fruit. Rosehips are another attractive addition to the fall landscape and these are grown by leaving the last blooming flowers on the bush to produce seed in the form of rosehips.

Some trees and shrubs have a more colorful leaf display than others. One of the most colorful shrubs is the ‘Burning Bush’ and as the name suggests the leaves turn a bright red in fall. Other trees/shrubs that turn varying shades of red is ‘Maple’, ‘Snowball’, ‘Sumac’, ‘Chokecherry’, ‘Dogwood’, ‘Barberry’, ‘Elder’, and ‘Spirea’. A creeping vine that turns a beautiful red is ‘Virginia Creeper’. Trees and shrubs that turn yellow/orange are ‘Cotoneaster’, ‘Poplars’, ‘Birch’, ‘Linden’, and ‘Mountain Ash’. A different sort of tree worth mentioning is the ‘Larch’. It is a deciduous conifer and the needles turn a bright yellow before falling off.

There are later blooming perennials that bloom in fall and an attractive one is ‘Stonecrop’ which is a sedum that requires very little moisture. Others such as Liatris, Phlox, Fleece flower, Joe Pye Weed, False Sunflower, and Honeysuckle are also still blooming which is nice this time of year when many of the annuals have finished blooming. 

An annual that is becoming a favorite in my landscape is the pansy as it continues to bloom late into fall and is not bothered by the night frosts we’ve been receiving. They were the first annual I planted out in May and they bloomed all summer and are still in full bloom. I made sure that they were watered, and fertilized regularly as well as always removing the finished flowers before they could form seed which if left will take away important nutrients needed in new flower formation. 

If you have an area in the yard or in a container where you want to add some color, pansies are still available to buy and plant in the garden center. Other annuals that are attractive right now are the Flowering Kale, and Flowering Cabbage, which has colorful foliage.


-Jos


Jos Van Hage owns three Art Knapp's Garden Centres in Prince George
-Hart Highway
-Highway 97 South at the Old Cariboo Highway
-Highway16 West

Previous Story - Next Story



Return to Home