As fall hits its stride in the Midwest, landscapes typically shift focus from bloom to structure and texture. For the region’s landscape professionals, fall offers a head start on next year’s installations. Cooler air and still-warm soils help newly planted trees, shrubs and perennials establish strong root systems that will carry them through winter.
The Midwest’s variable climate—warm days, crisp nights and autumn rainfalls—makes now a prime window for installing cool-season performers and fall-fruiting specimens. These selections deliver four-season interest, from evergreen foliage to winter berries, while reinforcing design layers that hold their shape after frost.
‘Golden Mop’ Threadleaf False Cypress—(Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Golden Mop’)
‘Golden Mop’ Threadleaf False Cypress
With its cascading chartreuse foliage, ‘Golden Mop’ Threadleaf False Cypress is a standout for texture and year-round color. Fine, thread-like needles resemble spun gold, offering contrast when paired with darker evergreens and red fall foliage.
Compact and mounding, it matures to roughly 3 feet tall and wide, forming a soft, irregular shape perfect for borders or foundation beds. ‘Golden Mop’ thrives in full sun to light shade and well-drained soil. It tolerates Midwest winters gracefully, with color that brightens even in snow. Fall planting ensures roots are anchored before freezing, minimizing winter heaving. For best results, avoid heavy clay and provide good air circulation.
‘Green Velvet’ Boxwood—(Buxus x ‘Green Velvet’)
‘Green Velvet’ Boxwood
The dependable foundation of a four-season landscape, ‘Green Velvet’ Boxwood is bred for cold tolerance. This hybrid holds its deep green color through most winters without bronzing. Naturally rounded, ‘Green Velvet’ Boxwood grows to about 3 feet high and equally wide, requiring little pruning to maintain its form.
Boxwoods perform best in partial sun with protection from drying winter winds. Plant in well-drained soils. Water deeply before the ground freezes and mulch to insulate the shrub’s roots. The shrub’s compact shape makes it ideal for defining spaces, lining walkways and softening hardscapes.
‘Red Sprite’ Winterberry—(Ilex verticillata ‘Red Sprite’)
‘Red Sprite’ Winterberry
When winterberry’s leaves drop, ‘Red Sprite’ takes center stage. This female winterberry produces vivid clusters of scarlet fruit that persist well into winter—sometimes into early spring if the birds don’t get them first. The berries, which require a male pollinator such as ‘Jim Dandy’ Winterberry to be planted nearby, provide late-season food for wildlife and exceptional color contrast in snow.
Reaching 3 to 5 feet tall, ‘Red Sprite’ forms a dense, rounded shape suitable for mass plantings or mixed borders. It thrives in moist, acidic soil and tolerates wet conditions, making it perfect near ponds or rain gardens. Full sun encourages stronger fruit production. Lore has it that holly berries were once seen as symbols of good fortune—certainly true for clients who appreciate year-round interest.
Bobo® Panicle Hydrangea—(Hydrangea paniculata)
Bobo® Panicle Hydrangea
A favorite for smaller landscapes, Bobo® Panicle Hydrangea continues its seasonal flowering well into fall. Its white panicles blush pink as nights cool, offering a soft gradient of color through the season.
Unlike larger panicle hydrangeas, Bobo maintains a tidy 3-foot height and width, perfect for under windows or grouped in mass plantings. Full to partial sun promotes dense flowering. The plant’s sturdy stems resist flopping even under heavy bloom. Planting in fall gives hydrangeas time to establish roots for stronger growth and bigger blooms next summer. Prune lightly in late winter or early spring to encourage new growth on the coming season’s wood.
‘Fire Star’ Dianthus—(Dianthus x)
‘Fire Star’ Dianthus
Compact, evergreen and long-blooming, ‘Fire Star’ Dianthus beautifully bridges the seasons. Bright magenta flowers and silvery-blue foliage deliver color well into fall, while its mounded habit—about 6 to 8 inches tall and a foot wide—keeps it neat at the garden’s edge.
‘Fire Star’ prefers full sun and well-drained soil, performing best when soil temperatures cool. Fall planting encourages root development and leads to vigorous spring performance. Deadhead spent blooms to extend the show. Plant in raised beds or rocky sites where drainage is ideal.
North Pole® Arborvitae—(Thuja occidentalis)
North Pole® Arborvitae
This arborvitae lives up to its name as one of the hardiest columnar evergreens available. Narrow and upright, it grows to about 15 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide, making it perfect for screening or as a vertical accent.
North Pole® Arborvitae has dense, dark-green foliage that remains rich through winter, resisting the bronzing that can dull lesser cultivars. This evergreen tolerates full sun to light shade and thrives in moist, well-drained soils. Plant in fall to ensure root establishment before ground freeze. Space for airflow and protect young plants from heavy snow loads in open exposures.
Sting® Arborvitae—(Thuja occidentalis)
Sting® Arborvitae
Even more slender than North Pole® Arborvitae, Sting® Arborvitae reaches 12 to 15 feet tall but only 2 feet wide. Its super narrow, spire-like form is ideal for modern landscapes or tight urban spaces. The evergreen’s dense, fine-textured foliage remains vivid green year-round, providing architectural rhythm in linear plantings or as living punctuation at garden entries.
Like most arborvitae, Sting thrives in full sun and moist, fertile soil. Fall planting allows roots to settle in before winter winds arrive, anchoring plants firmly for spring growth. Use in repetition for design unity or pair with rounded forms like Green Velvet Boxwood for textural contrast.
Why Fall Planting Works
Fall planting delivers a professional advantage: fewer transplant losses, healthier spring growth and client landscapes that look established faster. By mid-October in the Midwest, soil retains warmth even as air temperatures cool, creating perfect conditions for root expansion.
Planting shrubs and perennials without the stress of summer’s heat sets the stage for vigorous top growth next year. Water regularly until the ground freezes. Mulch 2 to 3 inches deep to retain soil moisture and to provide a buffer from fall winds and temperature swings.
Finish planting hardy species about six weeks before the ground typically freezes—roughly by mid-November in most of the region. With proper siting and soil prep, this will ensure strong root establishment before dormancy.
Learn More About Loma Vista Nursery’s Landscape Plants
Loma Vista Nursery grows a variety of cool-season plants for Midwest landscapes. Our customers are Midwest independent garden centers, landscape contractors and wholesale distributors. Our team of plant experts helps people learn about plants and the healthy varieties we grow.
Review Loma Vista Nursery’s plant catalog for information and visit our website to learn about our values and best practices as a wholesale Midwest plant grower. For help with orders and plant-related questions, send an email to sales@lomavistanursery.com or call (785) 229-7200.
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