Autumn is the beginning of the warmest season in terms of the colours that flood the foliage of your trees and shrubs, giving a vibrant burst of life as the sunny summer days start to fade. This post provides a spotlight on a variety of different trees, each offering its own unique contribution to the autumn colour scheme.
Cercidiphyllum Japonicum (Katsura Tree) The Katsura is a medium sized tree with heart-shaped leaves that display a variety of reddish-green tones in the spring/summer months, developing into enchanting burnt yellow-orange and pink hues in the autumn. Cercidiphyllum Japonicum is also commonly known as the Candyfloss tree due to the sweet, unique smell of burnt sugar that drifts from the foliage throughout the year. Sorbus Chinese Lace (Cut Leaved Mountain Ash Tree)Sorbus Chinese Lace offers a fantastic, lace like foliage soaked with an array of fiery yellow and red shades in the autumn. As the soft white flowers of summer disappear, their orange-red berry replacement provides food for a variety of birds throughout the winter. With a final size of just 5 x 4 metres in 20 years, the Sorbus Chinese Lace is a perfect small garden tree.
Cercis Canadensis Hearts of Gold (Eastern Redbud Tree) This Eastern Redbud tree makes a delightful contribution to autumnal garden displays with golden, buttery yellow foliage appearing after the purple/red, flowers that adorn the bare branches in the spring have disappeared. The heart shaped foliage of Cercis Canadensis provides a faded effect as the leaves are slightly darker in the centre, adopting lighter shades moving towards the tip. ‘Hearts of Gold’ is a small garden tree with a rounded habit and slightly spreading shape that would make a wonderful feature tree in any garden. Now is the perfect time to plant these trees without having to worry too much about their survival and establishment due to the warm, moist soil conditions of autumn. Remember to water your newly planted trees well and anything that you plant now will have a great start next spring, as they will have had all winter to settle in.
