Fall color: Red

Our garden is awash in red, including this shockingly bright seed of the European Spindle Tree (Euonymous europaeus). This is the only seedpod a trio of trees produced this year, so clearly not invasive in its current location!

Yes, I know Japanese Blood Grass looks this way during the entire growing season. But I always feel it comes into its own when it is echoed by all the different reds at this time of year.

One of our eight Korean maples (Acer pseudosieboldianum) glows in the distance behind our Ginkgo biloba. Korean or Purplebloom Maples are hardier than Japanese Maples but have similar leaves, making them a great choice if Japanese Maples are borderline hardy in your area. Korean Maples are hardy in Zones 4-8 and typically grow 12-25 feet tall and wide. If you are curious about this tree, the UW Arboretum here in Madison has them in the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens.

Another view (below) of the Korean Maple above. We bought it in a four-inch pot for $10.00 in 1999 from Reeseville Ridge Nursery. A few of our Korean Maples are narrow like this one.

At this time of year, it more than glows with color. It screams!

Of the eight Korean Maples growing in the garden, all but two were purchased at the Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society annual May plant sale with prices ranging from $11 to $17.00. I don't believe they have these for sale anymore, but larger trees are available at local nurseries. A couple of our trees have more orange than red fall color. 

I think it's related to the fact that they are not in as much sun as the brilliant red ones.  

But the variations in color is part of the pleasure of growing multiples of this tree. The photo below is a close up of some of the leaves of the orange-looking tree above.

The leaves of yet another Korean Maple.

We bought this Korean Maple (below) in 2000 from nearby Stonewall Nursery for $100.00. We wanted one of these trees to be big enough for instant impact. We were devastated when it split during a big snowstorm a few years ago. When the snow melted, Mark decided to take a chance and bolted the split back together. The tree never even slowed down.

We're high pruning our Burning Bush (Euonymous) so you can walk under it. As you can see, ours falls into the rose rather than red category.  

Fothergilla gardenii always colors up slowly compared to all the surrounding Maple trees, but it eventually puts on a bright show.

 

Comments

[Lisa at Greenbow]

You have lots of color in your garden. I like all the variations of red. Around here people plant Japanese Maples rather than Korean Maples. These Koreans are quite pretty.

[Beth @ PlantPostings]

Beautiful images of your fall foliage--especially the Japanese and Korean Maples. We have two Burning Bushes (which we're planning to pull out next spring). One has lost most of its leaves. The other, in a unique little microclimate location, is still green!