Planting for the seasons will create a garden with year-round interest and beauty – and autumn is a great season to enjoy a blaze of spectacular colours. In this article, Blue Mountain Nursery's plant expert Rebecca Hughes provides plenty of vibrant options.
Autumn colour is produced when lower temperatures and shorter days slow the rate of green chlorophyll production, revealing other chemicals in leaves that were previously hidden. These include yellow flavanols, orange carotenoids and red to purple anthocyanins. The exact mix of these chemicals varies between species and offers a rainbow of glorious golds, rich yellows, fiery reds and deep burgundies to choose from when creating a planting plan.
While we think of trees and their foliage signalling the change of seasons, there is also a vast array of plants doing gorgeous things as night temperatures drop and the day length changes. The most popular trees for autumn colour include Japanese maples (Acers), dogwoods (Cornus), birches (Betula), and sweet gums (Liquidambar)
Acer palmatum Beni Hine
Dwarf red Maple. Bright spring foliage matures to a copper bronze-green in summer. Orange-red in autumn.
Betula utilis White Spire
White trunks, attractive year-round with yellow autumn colour. Ht: 4m. Deciduous.
Acer rubrum October Glory
Canadian Maple. Dark green leaves in autumn, turning brilliant red. Hardy. Ht: 5m. Deciduous.
Cornus sanguinea Midwinter Fire
Spectacular orange winter colour on the stems. Light lemon coloured leaves in summer on a bushy shrub to 1m tall. Best grown in shade.
Acer x freemanii Jeffers Red
Red Maple. A fast-growing tree with green leaves turning red in autumn. Hardy. Ht: 4m. Deciduous.
Liquidambar acalycina
A rare Chinese species with purple new growth and purple-red/amber autumn colours. Ht: 3m.
Cornus kousa chinensis
A great small tree for southern gardens. Cream flowers from October to late December, then strawberry fruit and rusty red autumn colour. Ht: 3m.
Cotinus Grace
Smoke Bush. Large, rounded, light purple leaves with brilliant red autumn colours. Fawn-coloured plumes of flowers at Christmas. Vigorous. Ht: 3m. Deciduous.
Nyssa sinensis
Beautiful, orange-red colours in autumn. Tidy branching habit. Ht: 3m. Deciduous.
Acer palmatum Senkaki (Patio)
Magnificent orange autumn colour that holds well with striking vivid coral red branchesin winter. Attractive lime-green spring foliage. Ht: 2.5m (Patio - Multi Stem)
Acer palmatum Bloodgood
Purple Japanese Maple. Small, rounded tree with deep-red foliage throughout summer. Shelter from wind. Ht: 4-5.m. Deciduous.
Cercis Forest Pansy
Small, round-headed tree with vivid purple foliage and pink flowers in spring. Likes sun and shelter. Ht: 3m.
Salix
For autumn bark colour, shape and growth, you can’t go past Salix (willow). Originating from China, the genus comprises around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs found mainly in wet, cold and temperate areas. None are native to New Zealand. Salix comes in several forms, including weeping, upright and tortured. All species have alternate, usually narrow leaves and catkins, with male and female on separate trees and the seeds have long, silky hairs. Bark colours include red, yellow, gold, coral and black varieties. A versatile addition to the winter garden in a wet area.
Rebecca Hughes has a Botany BSc with Honours and has been National Training Manager for the Horticulture Industry Training Organisation (ITO) and General Manager for the Community Support Services ITO.
She is currently co-director of Blue Mountain Nurseries, a family-run wholesale and retail plant nursery established in Tapanui in 1932.