Shorter days and cooler nights signal the end of summer and the gradual seasonal march into autumn. Already, some trees are showing tinges of red, orange and yellow. Many of our garden center customers take delivery of a fall shipment of fall color superstars, so it’s a great time of year to choose the best and brightest for your landscape. You’ll find some of these fine choices at your favorite garden centers.
Autumn Brilliance® Serviceberry
Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’
Fall color doesn’t come much brighter than this! Dark green leaves of summer cast cool shade before greeting autumn with a brilliant display of bright red to orange red foliage. When spring arrives, this naturally occurring hybrid of two native species bursts into bloom, creating clouds of fluffy, snow-white flowers. Purplish-blue fruits of late spring are tasty and can be made into jams and syrups – if they can be harvested before the birds gobble them down!
Likely the most widely specified and planted of the species, it is our top-selling Serviceberry. Introduced in 1986 by Illinois plantsman Willett Wandell, this hybrid of A. arborea and A. laevis has proven adaptable to varied soils and growing conditions and is hardy through USDA Zone 4.
Ruby Vase Parrotia
Parrotia persica ‘Inge’s Ruby Vase’
Named for its upright, vase-shaped form. this mannerly cultivar of Persian Parrotia presents upright branches with open angles that allow for pruning for clearance for pedestrians and vehicles. Red tipped new growth matures to dark green, heat-tolerant summer foliage that turns bright orange red in autumn. Tiny flowers with bright red stamens bloom in late winter, complementing the beauty of its exfoliating grey and tan bark. Urban tolerant and adaptable, it becomes slightly wider at maturity than the better-known cultivar Vanessa as it reaches a mature height and spread of about 28’ x 16’.
Redpointe® Maple
Acer rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’ PP16769
Boom! Fall foliage this bright is a sight to behold. The brilliant red color of this exceptional red maple is among the first of the species to color in autumn. Distinguished for its rich, dark green, heat-tolerant summer foliage that turns to brilliant red in autumn, its upright, broadly pyramidal form and adaptability to urban growing conditions make it a natural choice for street tree plantings and cityscapes.
Ease of care in the nursery and in the landscape, plus tolerance of heat, cold, drought and varied soils (including those of higher pH levels) have helped it become our best-selling tree since its introduction in 2006. Height and spread are approximately 45’ x 30’ after 30 years in an average urban landscape setting.
Scarlet Oak
Quercus coccinea
Loved for its deep and brilliant shades of red fall color, this magnificent North American native tree is an enduring favorite. Summer foliage is dark green and glossy. Its shape resembles that of red oak, but is more upright, becoming more oval than round as it matures. Height at 30 years under average landscape conditions is about 50 feet, with a spread of about 40 feet. (Zone 4).
Pink Flair® Cherry
Prunus sargentii ‘JFS-KW58’
Big clusters of bright pink, single flowers burst from the upright branches of this compact, narrowly vase-shaped flowering cherry. Blooms avoid frost damage by appearing a week or two later than is typical of the species. Flowers are followed by large, dark green, exceptionally healthy leaves that withstand the heat of summer and periods of drought. Orange red fall color is consistently bright and long lasting. Upright symmetry lends winter appeal, along with distinctive, polished brown bark accented by tannish-cream lenticels.
The most disease resistant cherry we grow, its leaves stay clean and fresh even in our wettest, coolest springs. Since its introduction in 2004, it has proven to be exceptionally adaptable to extremes of heat and cold via plantings in North Dakota, New England, California and the Midwest and Southeast.
Prairie Gold® Aspen
Populus tremuloides ‘NE-Arb’
Prairie Gold® greatly expands the planting range of Quaking Aspen, a popular native species that is typically more at home in the mountains than in lower elevation landscapes. Adapted to the heat, drought and humidity of the Midwestern prairie, this Nebraska native brings lowland adaptability and disease tolerance to a high elevation favorite. We introduced it to the marketplace in cooperation with the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. Hardy through USDA Zone 4, it grows to a height and spread of about 40’ x 15’. Grown in single and multi-stem forms, our multi-trunk forms are perfect for naturalistic landscapes as well as more formal gardens.
October Glory® Maple
Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’
Introduced in 1964 by Princeton Nurseries of New Jersey, this classic red maple is among many extraordinary trees selected by plantsman and author William Flemer III. This round-headed, extremely symmetrical selection is the last red maple cultivar to color in the fall, and when it does, the color really pops. While it is less hardy (Zone 5) than most cultivars of the species, it seems better adapted to mild winter areas than many of the others.
Gardeners! Please note that our nursery is strictly wholesale. To purchase these and other trees grown by our nursery, please use our Retailer Locator to find sources of JFS trees near you.
