This time of year, who isn’t falling for foliage? For stately presence and autumn flair, consider adding these trees and shrubs to landscape projects and designs.
Pacific Sunset® Maple (Acer truncatum x Acer platanoides ‘Warrenred’)
Pacific Sunset® Maple
A hybrid of Shantung and Norway maple trees, Pacific Sunset produces glossy-green foliage that turns stunning shades of yellow, orange and red in autumn. As a small- to medium-size tree, it is perfect in residential landscapes, making it adaptable in parkways and as a shade tree anywhere in the yard. Its habit is round and upright, with spreading and arching branches.
Pacific Sunset® Maple has a moderate to rapid growth rate. Plant this tree 15 feet from buildings. At maturity, it stands 30 feet tall and has a 25-foot spread. It is Japanese Beetle resistant and a tough environmental specimen with dark green foliage. It produces no fruits to clean up in the yard. This tree is best in USDA Hardiness Zone 4.
Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)
Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum
If you’re looking for a flowering hedge or specimen shrub, Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum is very low maintenance and perfect in residential and commercial landscapes. It likes part sun and full sun, and attracts birds and butterflies. White flowers appear in early- to mid-summer and give way to blue fruits in fall. However, plant a different variety of Viburnum dentatum to cross pollinate.
Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum adapts to a variety of soils and weather conditions. This shrub flowers on old wood and does not require pruning. Mature height and spread is 7 feet. Plant in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8.
Redpointe® Red Maple (Acer rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’)
Redpointe® Maple
Prized for its pyramidal habit and rich green foliage during growing season, Redpointe® Maple features clusters of red flowers along its branches before leaves emerge in early spring. Foliage has a distinctive “maple leaf” shape that turns bright red in autumn. Bark is silver with red branches.
Redpointe® Maple reaches 45 feet tall at maturity and has a spread of 30 feet. Prune from the tree’s base to create a 6 foot canopy if it is planted where people will be walking or entertaining. This maple tolerates urban pollution and prefers average to wet conditions in acidic soil. Plant in full sun. Best in USDA Hardiness Zone 4.
Tiger Eyes® Cutleaf Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)
Tiger Eyes® Sumac
Tiger Eyes® is a dwarf staghorn sumac with a compact height and width. At maturity, it is only 3 to 6 feet tall and wide. It has a showy display featuring deciduous foliage that turns from green to gold, and then to vibrant red and orange. Because of its size and coloring, this sumac is beautiful in the landscape and as a thriller in containers.
Loved by birds and pollinators, Tiger Eyes® has no significant pest problems. It adapts to most soil conditions and grows fast in full sun or partial shade. Plant in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 8.
Bailey Red-Twigged Dogwood (Cornus sericea ‘Baileyi’)
Bailey Red-Twigged Dogwood
Loved in the landscape and in holiday décor for its distinctive red stems once it drops its leaves, Bailey Red-Twigged Dogwood is a beauty in the third season, too. Dark green leaves give way to blood-red foliage in autumn. Flat white flower clusters bloom from late spring through summer, then transform into white-blue fruits that provide food for migratory birds. The shrub also attracts butterflies and other pollinators and is deer resistant.
Bailey Red-Twigged Dogwood is not fussy about soil and will tolerate some shade and moisture. Plant it in the landscape to help control erosion, as well as en masse and as a privacy screen. Mature height and width is 8 to 10 feet. For best results, plant in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8.
Autumn Magic Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa ‘Autumn Magic’)
Autumn Magic Black Chokeberry
Showy white flowers and glossy dark green leaves highlight this compact shrub in spring – but its named show is in the fall. Foliage turns a vibrant dark red and purple with an abundance of black berries through late winter. Autumn Magic Black Chokeberry is typically planted in groupings in the landscape, but consider planting it as a specimen shrub in border gardens and perennial beds for its four-season appeal.
At just the right size, Autumn Magic Black Chokeberry is only 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide at maturity, making it ideal in rural landscapes as well as in suburban parks and public gardens. It requires minimal maintenance with pruning for shaping and aesthetics in late winter. Autumn Magic Black Chokeberry grows slowly and is not fussy about soil. Highly adaptable, it tolerates dry conditions, some standing water, environmental salt and urban pollution. Plant in full sun, in USDA Hardiness Zone 3.
Learn About the Loma Vista Nursery Family and Our Landscape Plants
Loma Vista Nursery grows healthy plants for Midwest independent garden centers, landscape contractors and wholesale distributors. We are now taking professional trade orders for the spring 2024 growing season. Click here for our container order form. Click here for our in-ground tree order form. Visit our plant catalog for more information about Loma Vista Nursery grown perennial plants, trees and shrubs – all ideal for Midwest landscapes.
Review our website to learn about our values and best-practices as a Midwest plant grower. Our staff members are experts in the field who love helping people learn and understand more about plants. To get help with your orders and answers to plant-related questions, send an email to sales@lomavistanursery.com or call (785) 229-7200.
Connect With Us
Stay current on our plant recommendations, growing tips and more by following us on social media.
