Autumn – Fafard

Festive Garden Fruits and Berries of Fall

Beautyberries offer one of the most brilliant and memorable shows of fall and there are many species from which to choose.

Depending on where you live, October can be a time when the last of the late summer and early fall color is fading from the garden. The asters are almost finished, the goldenrod is going, and most of the color comes from potted mums and Halloween pumpkins.

But your landscape does not have to succumb to drabness. There is an answer to the color dilemma—shrubs and trees with eye-catching fruits or berries. Taking center stage with gem-like red, black, purple, or yellow fruit, these plants multi-task by beautifying the garden while providing food for birds and small animals. The following species and varieties are among the best investments for the four-season landscape.

Passionate Purple Beautyberry

Beautyberries will remain on the shrubs after the leaves fall until they get snapped up by birds.

Beautyberry (Callicarpa ssp.) more than lives up to its name, with clusters of vivid purple berries hugging the stems, which also bear ovoid, slightly toothed green leaves. A member of the Lamiaceae or mint family, deciduous beautyberry boasts bronze spring foliage, small pink summer flowers, and fall berries–all on graceful, arching stems. There are several species of beautyberry available commercially. Among the most popular is ‘Profusion’; a variety of Bodinier’s beautyberry (Callicarpa bodinieri), which is celebrated for its heavy crops of fall berries. Hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 through 8, ‘Profusions’ grows 4 to 6 feet tall and wide, perfect for use as a specimen plant, an anchor in a large garden bed, or en masse to form a noteworthy hedge. Other available species include native American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), which is slightly more heat-tolerant than other species and hardy in zones 6 through 10; the slightly smaller purple beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma), hardy in zones 5 through 8; and Japanese beautyberry (Callicarpa japonica), hardy in the same USDA Hardiness Zones. All will thrive in full sun to light shade and can withstand clay soil. They should be pruned back in late winter for health and appearance’s sake.

A Non-Traditional American Cranberry

American cranberries simply glow against their red and purple changing foliage.

The universe of beautiful viburnums is large, but highbush cranberry, also known as cranberry viburnum or American cranberry (Viburnum opulus var. americanum), is one of the loveliest in autumn. It is not a true cranberry but bears edible fall fruit in a brilliant shade of red. As the name suggests, highbush cranberry is native to North America and grows large—8 to 12 feet tall and wide—but delivers a lot in return for that significant investment of garden space. In spring the shrubs sport flat-topped flower clusters reminiscent of Queen Anne’s lace, followed by dark green leaves, with three lobes apiece and an appearance akin to maple foliage. The leaves sometimes color up in fall before disappearing, but the crimson berries tend to outshine them.

Highbush cranberry is hardy in zones 2 through 7, performs well in full sun to light shade, and can survive cold winters. The flowers are beloved by butterflies and the fruits are attractive to birds. Humans can use them in much the same way as true cranberries—in jams, jellies, and confections.

Golden Crabapples

Golden Harvest crabapples literally glow on the branches after the leaves fall and birds love them.

All flowering crabapple trees (Malus spp.) are beautiful, and, at anywhere from 6 to 20 feet tall, depending on variety, compact enough for many home landscapes. They flower in spring in a frothy burst of pink buds that open to pink or white blossoms, with single or double rows of petals. Some never fruit, but many crown the fall season with small round apples in shades of pink to rosy red. The much-loved Sargeant crabapple (Malus sargentii), is a dwarf variety that can be grown as a large shrub or standardized as a small tree, is one of the red-fruited varieties. It is hardy in zones 4 through 7.

Red is heartening, but yellow or gold-fruited crabapples are especially dramatic. Cultivars like the rosy gold fruits of ‘Golden Harvest’, clear golden yellow fruits of ‘Golden Raindrops‘, and the larger, edible, golden crabapples of ‘Golden Hornet’, which is also a Royal Horticultural Society award winner. All are hardy to zones 4 through 8 and produce abundant, showy fruits that are beloved of birds and humans.

Crabapple fruits are not as persistent as some fall berries but are beautiful while they last. Many varieties also feature leaves that color up in the fall, prolonging the brilliant show.

Flowering crabs are tolerant trees, able to flourish in clay soil and withstand drought, once established in sunny locations. Prune to shape in late winter.

Brilliant Chokeberry

Brillant chokeberry has colorful fruits and its leaves turn from green to red in fall. (Image by Jessie Keith)

Chokeberry is an unattractive name for a very attractive, deciduous flowering and fruiting shrub. Aronia melanocarpa, known as black chokeberry, is the most common chokeberry in commerce. A member of the rose or Rosaceae family, black chokeberry is native to the eastern half of North America and is hardy in zones 3 through 8.

In the spring, the shrub starts with small clusters of five-petaled white flowers, which lure bees and other pollinators. These give way to glossy black fruits in the fall. If the birds do not get them all, the fruits may persist after frost. Though edible, they are sour but can be cooked and sweetened to make jellies, relishes, and other dishes. Chokeberry fruits share the spotlight with the leaves, which turn red-purple in fall before dropping from the plants. Black chokeberry is the smallest of the Aronia species at three to six feet tall and wide.

Black chokeberry has edible fruits and brilliant orange-red fall leaf color.

Chokeberry lovers who crave red fruits can invest in Aronia arbutifolia or red chokeberry, which grows 6 to 10 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide and is hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 through 9. A slightly more cold-hardy black chokeberry/red chokeberry hybrid, Aronia x prunifolia produces dark purple fruits on shrubs that grow 8 to twelve feet tall and 6 to 9 feet wide. It is hardy in USDA zones 4 through 7.

Chokeberries are suckering shrubs that can form thickets if left untended. They crave consistent moisture and are happy in moist or even swampy spots, including pond or stream edges.

Giving Fruiting Trees and Shrubs a Good Start

Beautyberry, highbush cranberry, crabapple, and chokeberry are relatively unfussy plants but benefit from a good start. Site in sunny locations and amend the soil at planting time with nutritious Fafard Garden Manure Blend. Water regularly to establish root systems, and keep chokeberries irrigated during dry spells. (Click here for a full guide to properly siting and planting shrubs and trees.)

Perennials with Decorative Fall Seedheads

Some fall seedheads bring life to changing, late-season gardens, whether by adding structure and texture to beds or bringing beauty to dry arrangements. Many also do double duty by providing fatty, nutritious food for wildlife. Our favorites even continue to look attractive into the colder months.

Part of enjoying fall seedheads is knowing which should not be cut back. Fastidious gardeners need to hold back with their shears and trimming instincts with these plants. Only when they have served their purposes–whether by adding garden interest or feeding wildlife– should they be cut. Here are several of the best perennials with the prettiest seedy heads for fall.

Perennials With Decorative Fall Seedheads

Black-Eyed Susans

Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia species and hybrids) have small, dark seedheads that remain attractive if you do not cut them back. Branched stems are topped with seedheads that songbirds cannot resist. Wait to cut them back until spring. The heads continue to lend garden interest and catch winter snow beautifully.

False Indigo

Baptisia has many seasons of interest if you leave up their dark, attractive pods through winter.

False Indigo (Baptisia species and hybrids, Zones 4-9, ~2-3 feet) has lovely pods that stand above the foliage and turn from green to black. In fall and winter, the dry, black seeds rattle and look attractive. The seeds eventually break open, and seedlings usually follow, but these are easily raked away with a hoe and mulched with Fafard^® Premium Natural & Organic Compost over in spring. Some songbirds, such as black-capped chickadees, also eat the seeds in winter.

Chinese Lanterns

Chinese Lanterns (Physalis alkekengi, Zones 3-9, 1-2 feet) are beautiful in fall–providing glowing lanterns that dry to bright orange-red, which are not seedheads but in essence seedhead covers. The upside is that they remain beautiful in the garden or dried arrangements for a long time. The downside is that these perennials spread quickly, so I recommend container-planting only for these rowdy but attractive plants. Fafard^® Natural & Organic Potting Mix is an excellent choice for potting up perennials. Cut off the lanterns by late fall to reduce self-sowing.

Clematis

Clematis (Clematis species and hybrids) of all types, vining, and non-vining, produce fluffy seedheads that remain on the plants through fall if left undisturbed. As they dry, they become super fluffy, and finally, they shatter. The seeds are then spread far and wide by the wind. Many hybrids produce sterile seeds, so you do not have to worry about seedlings overtaking your garden.

Coneflowers

Coneflowers (Echinacea species and hybrids, hardiness and heights vary) have reliably attractive seedheads that birds cannot resist. Many gardeners may be tempted to cut back the old flower heads in summer, but refrain from the temptation. Your reward will be lots of songbirds in the garden, and sturdy stems that dry to lend garden appeal all winter long. Expect some seedlings in springtime to move about the garden or share with friends.

Joe-Pye Weed

Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum, Zones 4-9, 5-7 feet) is a tall, native perennial that makes an impressive statement when in bloom and in seed. The fluffy seeds are attractive to birds and the structural heads and stems remain attractive into winter. Cut them back when they start to break apart. Expect some welcome spring seedlings.

Milkweed

Milkweed (Asclepias species and hybrids, hardiness and heights vary) have become garden favorites because they are essential for monarch butterflies, but many species also have very interesting and beautiful seedpods and seeds that break open and fly in the wind in fall. Keep the pods up in winter for interest. Seedings occur on occasion. Be sure to move them about the garden to increase its butterfly appeal.

Native Grasses

**Prairie Winds^®** ‘Blue Paradise’ Little Bluestem is a beautiful native grass variety from Proven Winners with pretty fall plumes. (photo left thanks to Proven Winners)

Native grasses of all types have very showy plumes in fall and winter. These include stately garden grasses such as Blonde Ambition blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis Blonde Ambition, Zones 4-9, 2-3 feet), with its numerous small seedheads, airy pink muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris), Totem Pole switchgrass (Panicum virgatum Prairie Winds^® Totem Pole, Zones 4-9, 6-7 feet), Blue Paradise little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium Prairie Winds^® Blue Paradise) or in the most extreme case, the 8-10′ western-native giant sacaton grass (Sporobolus wrightii ‘Windbreaker’, Zones 5-9).

Native Viburnums: Great Shrubs for Fall

In spring they give us clusters of fragrant white flowers. In summer, their lush foliage and appealing habits take center stage, but fall is when native viburnums really perform. Their leaves turn glowing colors, and fruits of red, orange, yellow, or black, make a decorative statement before they are picked off by cardinals, finches, and waxwings. Some fruits may even be maintained into winter.

Native viburnums have a few more things in common. They are tough and resilient once established. Give them full sun, and well-drained, fertile soil amended with quality products like Fafard Premium Topsoil, and they will be happy. Average moisture will ensure the best flowering, fruiting, and fall color. Most are remarkably hardy. Bees and butterflies feed on the spring flowers, and all manner of wildlife enjoy the late-season fruits. Altogether, they are outstanding landscape shrubs that will not disappoint.

Arrowwood

Colorful Arrowood leaves — Arrowwood has some of the most attractive fall leaves that may turn red, orange, yellow, and/or purple. (Image by Jessie Keith)

Few shrubs are as tough as arrowwood (V. dentatum, Zones 3-8), an eastern native with a distribution that extends from New England down to Texas. Autumn Jazz® (10-12 feet) is a fall fireball with leaves of red, orange, and yellow. The somewhat shorter Blue Muffin® (5-7 feet) develops clusters of bright blue fruits and burgundy-red leaves at season’s end. Finally, Chicago Lustre® (8-12 feet) is especially tolerant of heat and drought, and its lustrous leaves turn shades of yellow, orange, and burgundy-red. If more than one shrub is planted for cross-pollination, the clusters of ivory spring flowers develop into blue-black fruits. The flowers are especially valued by bumblebees, and the caterpillars of the spring azure butterfly feed on the leaves.

Possumhaw

Brandywine (Image by Proven Winners) — Nothing can beat the fall show of Brandywine. (Image by Proven Winners)

Native to the whole of eastern North America, possumhaw (Viburnum nudum, Zone 5-9) grows best in moist, loamy soils. Clusters of fragrant white flowers welcome spring. Through late summer and fall, the fruits turn from green to pink to blue-black. They are tart but edible when mature. The glossy dark green leaves turn shades of burgundy and dark red. Brandywine^™ (5-7 feet) is one of the best varieties for a fantastic display of fruit and reliable burgundy leaf color. Plant more than one shrub to ensure a fruit display.

American Cranberrybush

Few shrubs are as beautiful as a fully fruited American Cranberrybush (V. opulus var. americanum (Syn. Viburnum trilobum), Zones 2-7 ) in fall. Birds cannot get enough of the drooping red fruits, and the maple-like leaves glow in the sun like embers. Its leaves are also important to spring azure butterfly caterpillars. A mature specimen can reach between 8 and 12 feet, so give it plenty of space.

Nannyberry

Nannyberry (V. lentago, Zones 2-8) is the largest of the viburnums mentioned and grows more like a small tree than a shrub. Fully mature specimens can reach up to 20 feet and tolerate moister soils than most. Natural populations extend far up into Canada, making it an unusually hardy plant. Its clusters of ivory flowers appear in mid to late spring. Black fruits and bright red or orange leaves comprise its fall show. The caterpillars of the spring azure butterfly feed on its leaves, and the sweet fruits are edible to humans as well as wildlife.

Any of these exceptional shrubs will enliven your garden’s show, especially in fall and winter. Their high wildlife value will also draw more bees, butterflies, and birds to your yard.

Woolly Bears in the Garden: Lore and Ecology

Wooly Bears in the Garden: Lore and Ecology Featured Image

The banded woolly bear caterpillar is only about 1.5 to 2 inches long, but it carries a lot of weight on its small form. Since colonial times, folk wisdom has claimed that even before the caterpillar is old enough to metamorphose into a tiger moth, it has the power to predict winter weather. That is a big responsibility. The gentle caterpillars are also loved by kids and make great teaching tools to explain insect hibernation, insect life cycles, and regional folklore.

It’s All in the Woolly Bear Wool

Woolly bear caterpillars, also known as woolly worms, are the larval form of the Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia isabella). The source of their alleged superpower is the dense coat of bristly hair that covers the thirteen segments of the caterpillar’s body, which helps them hibernate through winter. This “wool” is most often black at both ends and rusty brown in the middle, and its various bands of color supposedly predict winter severity. For example, a longer brown segment augurs a mild winter; a shorter one means that the area is likely to have a more severe cold spell. (See more below)

Weather prediction aside, the woolly bear has other distinctive traits. Native to the United States, Canada, and northern Mexico, the Isabella tiger moth may produce one to two generations of caterpillars per season, the first in May and the second in August. Woolly bears are most prolific in the fall when the caterpillars are on the move–crossing roads and sidewalks in search of food and winter shelter. If you disturb a woolly bear, it will curl up into a woolly ball and “play dead” until danger is past.

What Do Isabella Tiger Moths Pollinate?

Isabella tiger moth (Image by Steve Jurvetson)

The Isabella tiger moth is not a pollinator. The pretty orange moths don’t eat and survive for only a few days after pupation. The adults emerge in spring, mate, lay eggs on the surface of a food plant, and die. The eggs hatch in June or July, and the little caterpillars feed on the leaves of various plants to become fully mature and hibernation-ready. On occasion, two life cycles can be completed in a single season. (Note: The nocturnal moths are attracted to light, so give them a fighting chance by minimizing outdoor lighting in the garden.)

Tasty Leaves for Woolly Bears

Woolly bear climbing on a fall chrysanthemum — A woolly bear climbs across a fall chrysanthemum.

Moths as a group have gotten a bad rap because of the harmful actions of some destructive species, like Gypsy moths. But, the larvae of many, including the Isabella tiger moth, do little damage, feed wildlife, and are cute garden friends. Your garden is probably home to plants with leaves that woolly bears relish, including old-fashioned beauties like sunflowers and asters, not to mention wilder plants like violets, clover, plantain, lambs quarters, and nettles. Though they prefer herbaceous plants, the caterpillars will occasionally snack on the low-tannin leaves of birches, maples, and elms. Unlike the gypsy moths, gentle Isabella tiger moths are not a threat to the survival of any of their host or food plants.

Helping Woolly Bears Overwinter in the Garden

Black woolly bear — All black or rusty woolly bears do exist, but they are less common. (Image from Prairie Sky Sanctuary)

When woolly bears start rambling around in fall, they are looking for the right shelter to help them survive winter. (Humans like a comfy bed and so do woolly bears!) They seek winter shelter under leaves or logs and may also spend the cold months in rock cavities. Keep a corner of your garden a little less tidy in the fall, and you will make it more attractive to woolly bears in search of a quiet, protected spot for their long winter’s nap. Your kids might even help direct them to the best hibernation spot in the yard.

Woolly bears freeze solid in winter. They survive because they have tissues that contain a cryoprotectant, which protects their soft bodies from freezing damage. In spring, the caterpillars thaw with no internal injury.

Do Woolly Bears Predict Winter Weather?

Woolly bear on a wooden structure — Some suggest that the black segments of the woolly bear’s coat lengthen as the caterpillars age, making older bears more likely to “predict” mild winter

The folklore about woolly bears and winter weather forecasting got a big assist from a mid-century American entomologist, who collected the caterpillars at Bear Mountain State Park, north of New York City, over a nine-year period beginning in 1948. The scientist found that in years when the brown band was longer, winters tended to be milder than normal. Experts point out that while the results were tantalizing, the sample size was small and limited to one area. That fact has done nothing to dampen the woolly bear’s reputation. Other sources suggest that the black segments of the woolly bear’s coat lengthen as the worms age, making older caterpillars more likely to “predict” harsh winters.

Six Ways to Read a Woolly Bear

Woolly bear on a twig — How would you read this woolly bear?

The caterpillars have 13 body segments said to correspond to the 13 weeks of winter in some parts of the country. Here are six ways to read them.

Broad Rusty Band = milder winter
Large Black Band = more severe winter
Fuller Wool= more severe winter
Long Black Head and Tail = severe winter at the beginning and end
All Brown =very mild winter
All Black = very severe winter

And, if you have woolly bears with lots of different color variants, it’s anyone’s guess. Whatever the truth, the presence of these distinctive insects in your garden is a good indicator that you have a healthy garden ecosystem. If you have them, help nurture their yearly return.

Bright Fall Flowers for Hummingbirds

Bright tubular flowers are nectar-filled beacons of hope for hummingbirds making their fall journey south. North American hummingbirds begin their great migration in late summer–some starting as far north as New Brunswick, Canada. It’s a long journey; an adult ruby-throated hummingbird can travel up to 20 miles and consume twice its weight in nectar and insects per day. Good food sources are essential, so reserve some space for their nectar-rich flowers in your fall garden. The beautiful blooms come in flaming colors, so it’s no chore.

Hummingbird Mints that Keep on Blooming

Young broad-tailed hummingbird taking nectar from Mexican giant hyssop — Young broad-tailed hummingbird takes nectar from Mexican giant hyssop.

Hummingbird mints (Agastache spp.) bloom from summer to fall and have fragrant foliage and flowers. The southwestern orange hummingbird mint (Agastache aurantiaca, Zones 4-9) is one of the prettiest with its loose spires of bright orange blooms. Try the 2.5-foot ‘Coronado’ with its silvery foliage and profuse tangerine-orange flowers. Mexican giant hyssop (Agastache mexicana, Zones 7-10) produces tall spikes of bright pink flowers on 3-foot plants. Both Agastache bloom into fall, adding bright pops of color that are sure to lure many hummingbirds. Deadhead regularly.

Mexican Cigar Flower

Ruby-throated hummingbird male feeding from a cigar plant — A ruby-throated hummingbird male feeds from a cigar plant.

Vermillionaire^® Mexican cigar flower (Cuphea ignea Vermillionaire^®, Zones 8-11) is a bushy tender perennial that will bloom from summer to frost. Its numerous, orange-red, tubular flowers are excellent hummingbird food. Another added bonus is that the cigar flower is exceptionally heat and drought tolerant. It will shine through the worst of the summer weather and keep on shining when it cools down.

Hybrid Foxglove

Hummingbird flying towards a Digiplexus — Digiplexus are nonstop bloomers that flower right up to frost.

One of the coolest new perennials in recent years is Digiplexus, a hybrid cross between the spring-flowering European foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and Canary Island foxglove (Isoplexis canariensis). Brilliant raspberry-pink flower spikes cover the impressive Digiplexus ‘Illumination Raspberry Improved’ from summer to frost. It will overwinter in Zones 8-11, and hummingbirds can’t get enough of the blooms.

Cannas

Cannas tall and short have colorful flowers that hummingbirds cannot resist. Whether you plant them in containers or gardens, they make a nonstop garden statement. My garden is never without ‘Striata’
(syn. ‘Pretoria’, ‘Bengal Tiger’). Its 4- to 5-foot plants have yellow-striped leaves and electric orange flowers. Gardeners with less space can try the 2-foot ‘Cleopatra‘, which has red and yellow flowers and green foliage with purple blocks of color. It grows beautifully in pots filled with Fafard^® Ultra Container Mix with Extended Feed. Right after the first frost, I cut my cannas back, dig the tubers, and store them in my cool, dark basement through winter.

Salvias for Hummingbirds

Ruby-throated hummingbird male feeding from Texas sage.

Late-blooming salvias are some of the finest flowers for traveling hummers. Each fall, my Hummingbird Forest Fire Texas sage (Salvia coccinea Hummingbird™ ‘Forest Fire’) looks the best in September. Its wands of deepest red flowers wake up late-season gardens. I also grow the pink-flowered ‘Brenthurst Pink’ Texas sage, which blends well with soft-colored plant compositions. Both of these plants are easily grown from seed in spring.

Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha, Zones 8-10) bears its arching spikes of small, fuzzy, purplish-red flowers in fall. Make space for the bushy, 2- to 3-foot plants through summer. When they produce their big show of flowers, you will see that they were worth the wait.

A young ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) feeding from the flowers of pineapple sage.

Another salvia with fall-only flowers is the herbal Golden Delicious pineapple sage (Salvia elegans Proven Accents^® Rockin’^® ‘Golden Delicious’). Each large, bushy plant is covered with soft, golden leaves that smell of mint and pineapple. They can be used to flavor drinks, tea, and desserts. Mid-fall is when the real show begins when contrasting spikes of scarlet flowers appear. The hummingbird flowers are also edible to humans.

Hummingbirds live for five to nine years, and once they find a good yard filled with their floral foods, they will return to it. Adding any of these colorful flowers to your fall garden will extend its value to hummingbirds down to the last flowering day of the season.

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