As temperatures turn cool, the Midwest’s seasonal shift delivers dramatic waves of color that boosts the human spirit and enhances landscape projects. We have compiled a list of eight trees and shrubs specifically chosen for their reliability and their spectacular fall performance. All of these are grown at Loma Vista Nursery.
Autumn Blaze Maple (Acer freemanii)
Autumn Blaze Maple
Autumn Blaze Maple is a vigorous shade tree known for its adaptability and reliable fall color. It develops an impressive oval to rounded habit, reaching a mature size of 50 feet tall and 40 feet wide. Site the tree in an open area with ample room for its mature size, avoiding utility lines.
This hybrid performs well across USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8. Plant in well-drained soil. Autumn Blaze Maple is low-maintenance and fast-growing. Once established, it has good drought tolerance and requires only moderate moisture.
For the best color development, plant this tree in full sun. During summer, its canopy is deep green. In autumn, foliage transitions to a breathtaking palette of bright orange-red to brilliant fiery scarlet before dropping its leaves. In winter, mature bark continues the show with interesting textures in shallow furrows and ridges.
Lindsey’s Skyward™ Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum ‘Lindsey’s Skyward’)
Lindsey’s Skyward™ Bald Cypress
Offering vertical interest in narrow spaces. Lindsey Skyward™ Bald Cypress has the feathery texture of a cypress with a strictly columnar form, reaching 25 feet tall but only 5 to 10 feet wide at maturity. Site this deciduous conifer as a formal accent, screen or vertical element where space is limited.
This plant provides four seasons of interest in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9 and thrives in full sun. It is unique for its wet/dry adaptability, performing well in typical, drier urban soils, but also exceptional in wet, boggy areas.
Throughout the warm season, the conifer’s soft, short needles are light bright green. In the fall, needles turn rich, russet-orange to deep bronze-brown. Winter bark is a highly ornamental. Color begins light brown and then turns reddish brown, exfoliating in long, peeling strips.
Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus)
Burning Bush
This landscape shrub’s intense autumn color makes it a popular landscape choice! Burning Bush is highly adaptable, reaching 15- to 20-feet tall and wide as it matures across USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 8. It is tolerant of a variety of soil types.
Although it tolerates partial shade, plant it in full sun for the most intense fall color. Burning Bush requires minimal pruning to maintain its shape. With a dense and mounding habit, it gives the landscape a uniform mass of color during the growing season.
As temperatures turn cooler, summer’s deep green leaves ignite into a nearly fluorescent crimson. In winter, the shrub’s bare stems create a distinctly architectural silhouette. Prominent corky wings on its stems lend textural interest.
(Aronia arbutifolia ‘Brilliantissima’)
Brilliantissima Red Chokeberry
Brilliantissima Red Chokeberry is a versatile, native, upright, multi-stemmed shrub that delivers season-long ornamental value. At 6 to 8 feet tall and wide at maturity, it is a tough shrub that thrives in challenging conditions from USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9.
This chokeberry prefers full sun to partial shade. Its strong environmental fortitude and tolerance of wet soil and road salt make it excellent for massing or erosion control along banks.
The shrub features spring white flowers and dark, glossy summer foliage. Its most noteworthy color feature is its autumn show. Foliage turns a fiery, brilliant red, coupled with persistent, bright red berries that hold through winter. The berries are an excellent source for birds and often persist well into winter, providing necessary sustenance when other food is scarce.
Forest Fire Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica ‘Forest Fire’)
Forest Fire Tupelo
Forest Fire Tupelo is prized in the landscape for its consistent and complex fall coloring. This stately tree develops a clean, pyramidal to oval shape. It matures at 40 to 50 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide. It is winter-durable across USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9.
Plant Forest Fire Tupelo in full sun, in acidic soil. It prefers consistent moisture, although it tolerates temporary wet conditions. The tree is resistant to most pests and diseases, making it a healthy, low-maintenance specimen.
During the growing season, Forest Fire Tupelo features highly polished, dark green leaves. Foliage transitions through an incredible gradient of autumn color. The show includes bright yellow, vivid orange and pure scarlet tones, which frequently display simultaneously. Mature winter bark is striking due to its uniform dark gray color and blocky, alligator-hide texture.
Sunjoy Gold Pillar® Barberry
True to its name, Sunjoy Gold Pillar® Barberry offers a splash of color in a narrow, upright form. The sun-loving shrub grows 4 feet tall and only 1½ feet wide. It is low-maintenance, and deer and drought resistant.
Plant this barberry where its vertical form can be highlighted as an accent shrub or small, colorful hedge. It is suitable for small gardens or foundation plantings across USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 7.
Throughout spring and summer, foliage is bright, showy yellow. When the temperature cools, it dramatically turns a tapestry of orange, deep red and purple. Upright bare stems are armed with sharp spines, contributing to a dense, protective winter framework.
Redpointe® Maple (Acer rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’)
Redpointe® Maple
Valued for its superior form and consistent autumn performance, Redpointe Maple is an improved selection of the native red maple. The cultivar develops a strong central leader and a tidy pyramidal to oval shape as it matures to 45 feet tall and 30 feet wide.
Known for its excellent heat and urban stress tolerance, Redpointe Maple performs well in challenging sites in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9. Site this maple in full sun where its uniform structure and dark green summer foliage can serve as a dependable shade or street tree.
Consistent fall color is Redpointe Maple’s most compelling feature. Foliage is pure red that emerges earlier than comparable cultivars. Bark is smooth and gray when young. Later, it develops moderate scaly plates that provide visual weight in the winter landscape.
Fizzy Mizzy® Sweetspire (Itea virginica)
Fizzy Mizzy® Sweetspire
Fizzy Mizzy® Itea is an outstanding native shrub known for its dense, compact habit and extended summer bloom. It matures to a manageable size, reaching 2 to 3 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide. This cultivar is highly adaptable and performs well across USDA Zones 5 to 9.
Its low, mounding form makes it an excellent choice for foundation plantings or massing along borders. It performs well in full sun to partial shade and prefers moist, well-drained, acidic soils. Its unique feature is its bottlebrush-like white flowers that bloom profusely in early summer.
In autumn, green summer foliage reliably transitions to an intense, vibrant mix of red, orange and golden yellow hues that last for weeks before dropping. Multiple stems create a mounded shape that holds its form well in the winter landscape.
Learn More About Loma Vista Nursery’s Landscape Plants
Loma Vista Nursery grows a variety of hardy plants for Midwest landscapes. Our customers—Midwest independent garden centers, landscape contractors and wholesale distributors—rely on our team of plant experts to learn about the healthy, reliable varieties we grow.
Review Loma Vista Nursery’s plant catalog for detailed information, and visit our website to learn about our values and best practices as a wholesale Midwest plant grower. For assistance with orders or plant-related questions, please send an email to sales@lomavistanursery.com or call (785) 229-7200.
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