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As growers and gardeners, we are more in tune with the seasons; we prepare for, and anticipate their arrival. Dates and week numbers help us plan but it is nature that sets the pace. It‘s late summer and speculation begins; what colours will autumn bring? Living next to the Hillier Gardens I have come to know autumn colour as a temperamental beauty.
The intensity and longevity of the season‘s brilliance varies from year to year, often contradicting anticipation. So let‘s celebrate autumn; despite its tempestuous nature it has so much to offer and perhaps together we can, at least partly, tame it with well chosen plants.
This is an opportunity to sing the praises of Acer palmatum ‘Emerald Lace’. Flame autumn foliage is reason enough for its rising popularity, but its attributes don‘t stop there. A gently weeping habit and modest size make it ideal for any garden where its neat, finely cut, filigree emerald leaves can be enjoyed. Although, with care, it will establish on chalk soil, my advice would be to plant in a container where it will prove to be surprisingly drought tolerant.
How about autumn scent? I remember the first time I discovered the Katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, as a Hillier apprentice many years ago. The breeze carried an unusual aroma of burnt sugar. In autumn, or times of drought, Cercidiphyllum will respond with this sweet smell. The aroma is reliable enough, in fact, if the plants on the nursery get too dry we soon know about it. Therefore I wouldn‘t recommend it as a container plant; a rich moist soil in full sun is what is required for this small to medium sized tree. Autumn colour can vary from year to year, always yellow but sometimes flushed smoky pink.
Although small, the dark pink pea-like flowers of Cercis Canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ stand out against woody stems in late spring. However, its not the flowers that make ‘Forest Pansy’ a must-have garden plant, it is the deep red-purple, rounded, heart-shaped leaves that colour wine-red to orangepink in autumn. It is very easy to grow in full sun or part shade. ‘Forest Pansy’ responds well to a hard February pruning which encourages fabulous foliage.
Popular for their winter stems, Dogwoods can also provide autumn foliage interest, a good example is Cornus alba ‘Sibirica Variegata’. An excellent all-rounder with mid-green leaves and a strong cream margin, in autumn it colours yellow and orange before revealing bare stems of dark red. Dogwoods will grow in just about any soil and they provide their best winter stems when pruned back hard in early spring.
If I were to compile a top 10 of autumn beauties Nyssa sylvatica would be in the top 5. The picture says it all, an autumn blaze of rich scarlet, orange and yellow. As with many trees, N. sylvatica can ultimately be described as large; however it‘s a slow grower and will suit most reasonably sized plots. The young plants we grow are the perfect size for planting and establishing in a moist, lime-free soil.
In late summer Parrotia persica is one of the first shrubs to show autumn colour, a striking collage of green, yellow, red and dark purple, all the more intense in full sun. This large shrub makes a handsome screen and backdrop and is perhaps the best large shrub or small tree for autumn colour on chalk soil.
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If you mention Rhus typina the stag‘s horn sumach, some gardeners will almost certainly reply with what they see as a negative – it suckers. I say great, all the more opportunity to enjoy its fine, fern like foliage that colours with the brightest yellow and orange autumn intensity. Yes it suckers, so choose the location with that in mind, perhaps in a border between a wall and a driveway. It‘s not fussy about the soil; we offer two fantastic sumachs, Rhus typhina ‘Tiger Eyes’, which doesn‘t sucker much, and Rhus x pulvinata ‘Red Autumn Lace’.
Vitis coignetiae
Vitis coignetiae is a very handsome ornamental vine with large, rounded, heart-shaped, dark green leaves that are typically 20cm across but can reach up to 30cm (1ft) across.
Ideal for screening a wall or fence and very impressive when grown through a medium or large tree, where it may start in shade but will soon find the sunshine. Easy to grow in a free draining soil, but don‘t overfeed or water as the best autumn colour of crimson and scarlet comes from plants in poor soil.
So get planting, these young plants may well even give you a glimpse now of the autumn spectacle you will have for years to come.
Autumn foliage colour, why?
The plant kingdom gives us such a wonderful palette of colour, attracting pollinators and seed dispersers, but what is the purpose of autumn colour?
In autumn, leaves of deciduous plants begin a natural process known as senescence, where leaf photosynthetic mechanisms are broken down. The plant is basically drawing nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus back into its woody stems or crown.
This process is key to the plant‘s vitality for the following season, so don‘t prune too close to leaf fall. Pigments such as carotenoids are part of the leaf‘s make up and are only revealed after chlorophyll is broken down, in autumn, giving us shades of yellow. It is now believed that other pigments providing shades of orange-reds are the plant‘s natural sun screen. Produced to protect the leaf‘s functions from bright light as it breaks down in autumn.
So now you can impress your friends with your knowledge of plant physiology while enjoying the colours of autumn.
