When the summer season pass, it’s also the time for the spectacular blooms and colors of the vernal garden to begin to fade. But you also still have opportunities to capture the unique beauty of the changing of the next season – the fall. Check out the 10 Best Stunning Plants For Fall Season to enjoy their natural beauty with a dazzling display from late summer into early winter.
In addition to offering spectacular fall color to your garden with structure, ornamental detail, and color, some plants also provide berries to give wildlife in your garden a boost. Growing these plants will take your landscape to the next level, trees in your garden or yard can help grow secret gardens, add charming curb appeal, and even make the perfect resting spot.
#1 Burning Bush
Source: Thetreecenter
Burning Bush is a hardy plant that grows well in zones 3 through 7. It can grow up to 20 feet in height and 25 feet wide. During spring and summer, the plant produces green leaves which will turn a dramatic scarlet red in fall with dangling fruit clusters. The fruits are poisonous to us but much beloved by wild birds. It needs to grow in full sun to part shade for happy growth.
#2 Virginia Creeper
Source: Growjoy
Virginia Creeper is an excellent choice that grows best in zones 3 to 9. It is really easygoing that can adapt well to any sunlight and soil conditions. The leaves are lime colored in spring, then they will slowly transition to hunter-green in summer, finishing in autumn with dazzling shades of scarlet and magenta. The tiny blue-black berries are a free valuable food source for birds through winter months.
#3 American Smoke Tree
Source: Gardenersworld
American smoke tree is one of the native trees with brilliant fall color that can reach 20 to 30 feet tall and wide. It needs full sun, medium moisture, and well-draining soil. The leaves transition from blue-green to an array of autumn hues from yellow, red, orange to purple.
#4 Blue Star Amsonia
Source: Bluestoneperennials
Blue Star Amsonia can reach 3 feet high when grown in zones 5 to 8. The plant grows feathery and bushy with airy and soft needle-like foliage, making a wonderful contrast when planted nearby. On summer days, the leaves are bright green, then turn a flashy golden yellow to burnt orange in the fall season.
#5 Sugar Maple
Source: Coldstreamfarm
Sugar Maple thrives in zones 3 to 8 and prefers full sun. It can grow up to 120 feet in height with spectacular foliage colors. In spring and summer, the leaves start out as emerald green, then slowly transition to lime green, bright yellow, vibrant orange, and fire engine red, finishing its cycle in a deep burgundy.
#6 Switch Grass
Source: Anuaed
Switch Grass is a perennial grass that grows in 3-foot-high clumps. It does well in zones 5 to 9 with full sun or partial shade. This plant is considered ornamental to add both texture and color to any outdoor space. During summer, the leaves are bluish-green with red highlights, turning shades of purple, burgundy, and wine in fall.
#7 Quaking Aspen
Source: Jniplants
Quaking Aspen is a tall and slender tree that can reach 80 feet when mature. This hardy plant grows optimally in zones 1 through 7. It produces a smooth silvery trunk topped with a canopy of rounded, slightly serrate leaves that start out lime green and transition to golden yellow in fall.
#8 Virginia Sweetspire
Source: Edgings
Virginia sweetspire is a flowering shrub growing in zones 5 to 9. It favors growing in full sun and also tolerates shade. It offers arching stems dappled with simple oval leaves. The leaves slowly transition from green to gold, orange, and finally, a rich crimson red when autumn comes. In summer, it bears fragrant, small white flowers in drooping racemes that cover the entire plant.
#9 Staghorn Sumac
Source: Ithacajournal
Staghorn Sumac is a type of small tree or shrub grown hardy in zones 4 to 8. It is famous for bright, eye-catching foliage in the fall season, producing large floral spikes in spring, then mature into colorful clusters of drupes that persist into winter. Its fruits are a good source of food for local wildlife. The foliage transitions to eye-catching colors in fall, ranging from bright red to orange to burgundy.
#10 American Beautyberry
Source: Nursery
American beautyberry grows as a shrub in zones 6 to 10. This hardy plant is cherished for its large clusters of violet drupes and edible berries. They can be used to make jellies and wines, or leave them on the branch for foraging animals.