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Native Viburnums: Great Shrubs for Fall

Native Viburnums: Great Shrubs for Fall Featured Image
Possumhaw has fruits that turn from pink to blue-black in fall. (Image by Proven Winners)

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

American Cranberrybush
A well-colored American Cranberrybush makes an exceptional statement in fall. Andreas Eichler

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
Black fruits and bright red or orange fall leaves make nannyberry a real winner for fall.

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.

Shrubs and Trees with the Best Fall Leaves

Rainbow flowering dogwood leaves
The tri-colored leaves of Rainbow flowering dogwood (Cornus florida ‘Rainbow) are a fall delight!

Cool, moist, bountiful summers lead to gloriously bright fall leaves. Why? Because the healthier the trees and shrubs, the brighter and more colorful the leaf pigments. (Leaf pigments require a lot of energy to make, which is why plants need to be healthy and productive to produce a lot.) So, if the growing season has been generous, the season’s leaf colors should be off the charts!

Blackgum leaves
A blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) glows against fall blue skies.


It’s almost like magic when the fall leaves turn from green to fiery fall shades. Red, yellow, orange and purple fall leaf colors are present even in summer, but they are hidden behind a mask of green chlorophyll. This dominant green pigment hides nearly all other leaf pigments until temperatures cool down and leaves begin to die in autumn. As the leaves end their cycle, water-soluble chlorophyll breaks down while many of the brighter leaf pigments remain intact. So at the end of the season, leaves truly show off their true colors (or underlying pigments).

Different pigment types produce different leaf colors, and there are three primary pigments, including chlorophyll. The two other types are carotenoids and anthocyanins. Carotenoids (think carrots) are water repellent and product bright yellow and orange colors in fall leaves. (The most common carotenoid is the healthful ß-carotene, which is in many of the foods we eat.) Anthocyanins are water-soluble and responsible for red leaf colors as well as purplish leaf colors. When the green chlorophyll in the chloroplast dies away, carotenoids and anthocyanins are the showy pigments left behind.

Super maple leaves
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) leaves turn the finest shades of orange and gold.

Best Gold and Orange Fall Leaves

Of the yellow-, gold- and orange-leaved fall shrubs, few are as nice as native witch hazels (Hamamelis virginiana) and Fothergilla (Fothergilla major and F. minor). The low, spreading fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica ‘Gro Low’) is also a winning shrub with bright gold and orange color. For peachy golden orange leaves, nothing is better than the sugar maple (Acer saccharum); the cultivars ‘Legacy’ and ‘Green Mountain’ are particularly bright orange show stoppers. Two more trees of note include the two deciduous conifers, the eastern larch (Larix laricina), which has lovely golden needles, and bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), which turns rich russet orange. Finally, the pure gold leaves of the ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) look like golden fans on the limb before they quickly fall to the ground creating a bright carpet of color.

Best Red Fall Leaves

Red maple tree leaves
The red maple (Acer rubrum) is a classic tree for great fall red color.


Gardeners love red-leaved trees and few are as crimson in fall as the red maple ‘October Glory’ (Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’), though the Freeman maple Autumn Blaze (Acer x freemanii ‘Jeffersred’ AUTUMN BLAZE) is a contender. A desirable tree with pleasing russet red leaves is the shumard oak (Quercus schumardii) while the native blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) offers leaves of the finest scarlet. Sumacs (Rhus spp.) of all manner of brilliance typically redden roadsides across North America, and a few like Prairie Flame Dwarf Sumac (Rhus copallinum var. latifolia ‘Morton’ PRAIRIE FLAME) are also great for the landscape. Two more superb red-leaved fall shrubs of desire are the chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia ‘Brilliantissima’) and the orange-red-leaved Canadian serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis).

Best Purple Fall Leaves

Autumn sourwood trees
The purple-red fall leaves of sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) trees are unique and attractive.


Many fall beauties have leaves emboldened with both purple and red hues. The ever-beautiful oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quericifolia) is one of these as is the classic flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). Of the flowering dogwoods, the disease-resistant cultivar ‘Appalachian Spring’, with its crimson-purple fall leaves, is the most recommended, but the tricolored cultivar ‘Rainbow’ is also a visual delight. The wonderfully hardy American cranberrybush (Viburnum opulus var. americanum) also turns pleasing shades of purple and red come autumn. And when it comes to trees with impressive purple shades, the sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) are both exceptional.

There are several ways to keep fall-fantastic trees and shrubs in prime health for the autumnal show. First, it is important to keep them well-irrigated during very dry periods. A mulch of rich compost or well-deteriorated bark will also help them retain summer moisture while dissuading weeds at the root zone. Fafard Premium Organic Compost is an excellent product for seasonal mulching. And if care and the season have been generous, take time to enjoy the fleeting but glorious color of fall.

Rhus glabra fall color foliage2
Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) is one of the better native shrubs for crimson color.