Reader's Choice: Fall Color

Here are some of the assessments our readers offered about fall-specific plants to which they refer customers:

“I recommend Pistacia chinensis from West Covina Nursery. I love this tree because [it] will give you easy fall color even in the mild winter areas. It does not need colder weather in order to change to the fall color like most trees need. The fall colors of the foilage are scarlet, crimson, orange, and sometimes yellow tones.”
— Mike Wronkowski, Green Arrow Nursery, North Hills, Calif.

“Pansies and violas are my biggest sellers, but Red Bor kale and Giant Red mustard are way under-used. Not only are they great ornamentals, they are also edible. Both the kale and the mustard are seed-grown varieties.”
— Linda Rodriguez, Haggens Market, Lake Stevens, Wash.

“My plant choice for fall color is Rhus Prairie Flame. It’s a smaller sumac with clean, glossy, summer foliage and a great red fall showing. Some of the other reasons I personally like this plant: deer resistant, drought tolerant, good for infertile soils, pest and disease tolerance are very good. I purchase this plant from Home Nursery Inc., in Edwardsville, Ill.
— Bob Howard, Allen Landscape Centre, Highland, Ind.

“One of our favorites is dwarf Fothergilla – Fothergilla gardenii. It sports nice, bottlebrush white flowers in spring; clean, green foliage all season and a great mix of yellow, orange and red in fall.”
— Brian Wolff, Chalet, Wilmette, Ill.

“Japanese stewartia from J Frank Schmidt and Sons is my favorite of trees – just a stunning show of of reds, oranges, burgundy and yellows. Add the fabulous peeling and colorful bark of a mature tree and the flowering when everything else has wrapped it up for summer blooming, and what’s not to love?”
— Chris Donahue, Down To Earth Home and Garden, Eugene, Ore.

“Of course, mums are still the highlight of fall, but we’ve moved more into Mammoth Mums, supplied by Ball Seed. We refer to them as Minnesota Mums, since they were originally bred by the University of Minnesota, making them the hardiest mums for our area. The other selling point is that they [the flowers] get BIG (up to 3 inches high and 4 inches spread), so less plants are needed to make a huge impact.”
— Maria Kreidermacher,
Pork & Plants, Altura, Minn.

“The ornamental cabbages/kales and peppers are hot in our area. We seed all and grow them on. Ornamental peppers have been hot all year, and I know this fall the trend will continue.”
— Sunnie Wright-Caldwell, Strange’s Garden Center, Richmond, Va

Here are some other notable plants our readers say they recommend to customers looking for fall color:
Allium thunbergii ‘Ozawa’; Amsonia hubrechtii; Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’; Argyranthemum; Bidens in 10-inch hanging baskets; Blueberries; Bracteantha; Calluna; Caryopteris; Celosia (Red/Orange plume); Cercidiphyllum japonicum; Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Elwoodii’; Clethra (Summer Sweet); Crape myrtles; Diascia; Dianthus.

Fothergilla (dwarf); Fruit trees; Giant Red mustard; Ginkgo biloba; Gourds; Helichrysum italicum; Heucheras; Hibiscus; Hydrangea paniculata; Hydrangea (Pee Gee); Japanese stewartia; Kale; Lespedeza (‘Pink Fountain’/’Gibraltar’); Mexican Sage; Ornamental peppers; Osteospermum.

Pansies (Delta series); Petunias (Supertunias); Physostegia; Pineapple sage; Pistacia Chinensis; Rabdosia longituba; Rudbeckia (‘Tiger Eye Gold’); Sedum (‘Autumn Joy,’ ‘Neon,’ ‘Carl’); Snapdragons; Snowberries; Spirea (Magic carpet, Spiraea betulifolia 'Tor'); Succulents; Sumac (Rhus Prairie Flame, Rhus copallina, Rhus typhina ‘Tiger Eyes’); Swiss chard; Thuja plicata ‘4ever’ Goldy; Tricyrtis; Tupelo trees; Viburnum; Violas; Witch hazel; Zinnias (Fire Orange, Tangerine etc.).