Fall Foliage Plants For Every Garden

Learn about some great fall foliage plants that look great in the garden late in the season when most flowers have faded and died back.

I'm so fortunate to live in an area where the just about everywhere you look you can find beautiful, colorful foliage during autumn.

However, as an ornamental gardener, I like my garden to look good as long as possible, so I often purchase plants with fall color, or those that I know will either bloom, produce fruit, or change color in the fall. Today I'm sharing a few of my favorites and other options for your fall garden.

Fall Foliage Favorite Trees

Sugar Maple -  Acer saccharum

The sugar maple, which is common around here, is gorgeous in lively hues of orange but can grow to over 50 feet tall and wide. However, I thoroughly enjoy the many sugar maples in Pennsylvania come fall. They are truly beautiful in October. You can always look for a Japanese maple for the garden. They don't get quite that large but have beautiful fall color.

Dogwood  - Cornus florida

If you are in the market for a more manageable tree, you might like a dogwood tree. They typically reach 15 feet. They come in many varieties and have beautiful blooms in the spring and berries in the late fall, in addition to pretty warm fall foliage.

Crabapple - Malus

Crabapple tree like this one, called Indian Magic. Of course, both the dogwood and the crabapple produce beautiful spring blossoms too.

Shrubs with Great Fall Foliage

Burning Bush - Euonymus alatus

You may know the Burning Bush (pictured above). This easy to grow shrub can be found in many suburban landscapes and will last for years. Today, it is considered invasive and should not be planted. However, some suggest substituting Euonymus atropurpureus, or Eastern Wahoo a native non-invasive plant.

Witch Alder - Fothergilla major

In addition to gorgeous foliage in the fall, this one also has interesting early spring flowers that look great in arrangements. This is one of my Must Have Shrubs in your garden for its multi-season interest and easy maintenance.

Oakleaf Hydrangea - Hydrangea quercifolia

Many hydrangea turn colors in the fall, like this pretty Oakleaf Hydrangea. It also has pretty flowers that dry on the shrub. Though somewhat delicate, they will last for a long time.

Virginia Sweetspire - Itea Henry's Garnet

Here's another frequently planted shrub in the landscape, with beautiful autumn color and spring blooms. This one only grows to about 3-5 feet tall, so you can easily find a place for it in the garden.

Winterberry - Ilex verticillata x serrata

Here's a lovely, slow-growing, deciduous shrub from the holly family that produces beautiful red berries in the fall. It attracts birds and pollinators but is deer-resistant.

American Beautyberry  - Callicarpa dichotoma

For an unusual, striking purple color in early fall through November, try this native beautyberry shrub. This particular variety is a hybrid called 'Early Amethyst.' I even made a colorful magenta beautyberry jelly with the berries.

And here's a beautiful cultivar I planted a few years ago. It's a beautyberry shrub with dark burgundy and wine colored leaves. And, true to its name, it produces the same beautiful berries during the fall.

Perennial Plants with Great Autumn Color

Beardtongue - Penstemon 'Husker Red'

Named Perennial of the Year in 1996. This mid-size perennial has beautiful dark foliage, stems, and interesting seedpods in the fall.

Cranesbill -  Geranium sanguineum.

Many hardy geraniums have pretty fall foliage. They might just be my very favorite perennial in the garden. They have a sweet cottage rambling nature and bloom for a long time.

Barrenwort - Epimedium 

I love the really dark eggplant purple foliage of this epimedium. Small yellow flowers come out in the spring, but the foliage is always pretty and especially in the fall. Another great shade lover. This was given to me by a friend, but I think it might be the variety 'Thunderbolt.'

Asters

Asters are late summer flowering perennials that are easy to grow. Some are native to America but many are hybrids that come in a wide variety of colors. They grow well in a wide variety of zones and are drought-tolerant. Plant these beauties, loved by bees and butterflies, in full sun or part shade.

Hosta

Even something as common as a hosta can have bright fall foliage, as shown above. The bright yellow golden color adds a nice touch to the garden during the fall.

These are just a few of the many plants with fall colors to choose from. I hope that I have inspired you to think of fall the next time you purchase a plant for your garden.