Backyard Wisdom

Oaks Are Good Choice for the Landscape

Just last week, I took some time to talk about a few trees that offer great fall color in the landscape. While I mentioned oaks, I didn’t give them the attention that they deserve.

I know some people avoid planting them because they think that oaks are too slow growing or that they have limited value for fall color. But those beliefs just don’t hold up for several oaks. My colleague and friend Shane Harris has some great thoughts on choices of oaks for the home landscape here. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Home Grounds blog is a great source of garden and landscape information.

Fall Colors Welcome After Rainy Days

After what seems to have been the rainiest September and October that I can remember in years, the sun has settled in for at least a few days. That sunshine is bringing out the best in fall leaf colors around Auburn.

The Chinese pistache trees on the Auburn campus are beginning to show their brilliant orange and red colors. My crepe myrtles are a wonderful rich red. The oaks and red maples are showing off as well. And I’m just waiting for the glorious gold to fully develop on the gingkos around town.

I would venture to say that almost all of our home landscapes would benefit from the addition of a tree or two. Now is a great time to check out tree’s fall foliage and find a few that would complement your landscape.

Smaller trees with good fall color include dogwoods and Japanese maples. Another choice is a native tree Chionanthus virginicus. One common name is white fringetree, but I grew up calling it Grancy Graybeard.

Chinese pistache, sourwood and Carolina silverbell are medium-sized trees that generally have good fall color.

Finally if you have a place for a large tree (one that will reach more than 50 or 60 feet in height) in your landscape, a number of oaks may fit the bill for you. But black tupelo and gingkos are also good choices.

For more information about fall color and trees, check out what Chuck Browne has to say at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Home Grounds blog. Shane Harris talks more about fall color here.
Finally, Virginia Tech has a great list of trees with links to photos of their fall foliage colors here.