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Design trends

Favorite Japanese Maples

A Sango Kaku Japanese Maple in fall color

I have two Japanese maples on my deck. They are not nearly as large as those I had up in Bonny Doon but you have to start somewhere. One is a common acer palmatum seedling and the other a ‘Sanguo Kaku’. They have not started to show any fall color yet. It’s been a hot summer as you know.

Many of you readers were evacuated last summer and your garden did not get watered. This summer has been hot and everyone is trying to conserve water. So if your Japanese maple has suffered from hot weather, smoke and just plain tough conditions you may not get a spectacular fall foliage display this year. I see trees of all kinds going into an early dormancy showing a touch of fall color only. Every year is different.

Other things besides hot weather and not enough summer water to consider regarding fall coloring is that it can be disrupted by wind and rain coming at the wrong time. Japanese maples have a more delicate leaf than some of other trees and are more susceptible to the elements of nature. We most likely won’t get rain spoiling the display but wind during this time will put a quick end to the autumnal display.

At a local wholesale nursery recently I walked through their 36 inch box Japanese maple specimens getting ideas for future projects. Several that caught my eye included the variegated ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Oshio Beni’ with its orange and crimson fall coloring. Other notable maples that display vibrant fall coloring included ’Seiryu’, an upright laceleaf variety which turns bright gold, yellow and crimson in the fall. Also beautiful, the ‘Autumn Moon’ maples promised varying shade of gold to red.

Leaves change color when they are going into winter dormancy. When nights get long enough, leaves develop a corky layer of cells between the leaf stalk and the woody part of the tree. This slows the transport of water and carbohydrates. The manufacture of chlorophyll is slowed and the green color of the leaves begins to fade, allowing the other pigments to show through. Since the transport of water is slowed down, food manufactured by the remaining chlorophyll builds up in the sap of the leaf and other pigments are formed which cause the leaves to turn red or purple in color depending on the acidity of the sap.

For example, sumacs and California wild grape almost always turn red because red pigments are present and their leaf sap is acidic, While many of the oak and sometimes ashes will get a purplish color because the sap is less acidic. Trees like birch don’t have much orange pigment, so they appear mostly yellow in the fall. Others don’t have much yellow pigment and turn mostly orange or read. Some trees have a balance of pigments and look pinkish. The brown color or many oaks can be attributed to a buildup of tannins which is a waste product in the leaves.

So don’t miss out on Japanese maple season. You won’t regret getting a new one for your yard or patio.

color in the garden, colorful foliage, fall foliage, gardening tips, last frost date, trees

The November Garden

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Cercis_Forest_PansyOutside my window, the Forest Pansy Redbud has started to display its spectacular burnt orange fall color. There?s a suet feeder hanging from the branches so I get to enjoy the antics of the Pygmy Nuthatches, Purple Finches and the Chestnut-backed Chickadees all day long as I watch the changing colors of the foliage. Out back I have a Catawba Crape Myrtle also starting to show fall color. Its leaves are turning a rich butterscotch shade which is lovely but not the reddish-orange described in the books. What causes fall color to vary from plant to plant? How does location in the garden, weather, climate and growing conditions affect what you see each fall?

The brilliant fall color we see in the leaves of trees and plants is always there. It?s just masked by Japanese_Maple-fall_color.1280chlorophyll during the growing season as the plant is busy making food while the sun shines during photosynthesis. Come autumn, shorter days and cooler temperatures cause the trees to switch into energy-storage mode, at which point their leaves stop producing chlorophyll. For the few weeks before the leave fall to the ground, they are colored only by their natural pigments. It’s these colors – red and purple anthocyanins and yellow and orange carotenoids that make fall foliage so glorious.

Some years the show is more dramatic than others. The best conditions for intense leaf color to develop are dry sunny days followed by cool, but not freezing nights. A warm, wet autumn will almost surely result in less-than-spectacular foliage because the process of chlorophyll loss will be less consistent. Freezing temperatures or winds meanwhile can cause leaves to drop suddenly denying them opportunity to enter their slow, colorful dormancy. Finally, trees that are under stress because of pests, disease, injury or drought may drop their leaves with no color change at all.

Japanese_Maple-fall_color2.1280So if your garden becomes shady early in the fall this may result in less vivid fall foliage. If your trees are stressed by drought like this year you may not get the usual colorful fall display. These and the above factors all affect the intensity of fall foliage colors.

Now is a good time to shop for plants and trees that can punch up the color of fall in your garden. Seeing your new addition in person will show you exactly what color you are going to get. Sure Autumn Gold Ginkgo will probably always color up bright yellow and Sango Kaku Japanese maples will show off their characteristic golden foliage but the fall color of Purple Smoke Bush, Katsura tree, Witch Hazel, Pomegranate, Oakleaf Hydrangea and Blueberry, to name just a few, can vary.

First Frost
I received an email from someone new to the area about when to expect our first frost. I’ve kept a weather Japanese_Maple_Sango-Kaku_fall_color.1600journal since 1992 and based on my records occasionally we get a light frost at the end of October. Mostly though, the earliest frost has occurred about second week of November with late November being the most common. Be prepared by moving frost tender plants under overhangs if possible or having frost blankets (not plastic) ready to cover delicate plants.

Transplanting in Fall
Need to move a plant or install plants out of containers and into the garden soil? Now through February offers the best time to do this. Soils are still warm at this time of year which helps new roots get established quicker than in later winter.

Prepare the new location first before excavating any plant. Dig a hole twice as wide as the rootball, but just the same depth. Use a sharp spade to make clean cuts through roots. Cut roots will form new, dense and healthy roots.

Before replanting, especially from a container, check for roots that have circled the interior of the pot. These must be tugged loose and straightened when planted. Don’t be shy about loosening roots. When replanting be certain to keep the rootball at the same level it was and don’t add soil over the rootball. Most plants need oxygen at the soil level.

fall foliage, garden design

Fall Color Trees for the Santa Cruz Mountains

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Walking around my neighborhood I see neon red fall foliage at every turn. Japanese maples covered with vivid red, bright orange or yellow leaves steal the scene wherever they grow. Surrounded by greenery Canadian redbud now pop with burgundy and yellow color. Flowering dogwood look like they're on fire. Because we live among so many trees and shrubs that stay evergreen in winter, fall color is especially important for us. What plants put on a good show in our area?

We are all familiar with the brilliant fall color of Japanese maples. Bloodgood is probably the single most popular upright purple-leaved variety seen in gardens. Beautiful in color and form, it's easy to grow and fits nicely in the smaller garden. Mine is covered with glowing red foliage now even though it grows year round in the shade.

My Coral Bark Japanese maple has had glowing golden and red foliage since early September. It's one of the earliest to start coloring in fall and make quite a statement in the garden when combined with warm-toned plants like heauchere 'Creme Brulee'.  I love this tree as it grows more upright and looks great near an entry as an accent. That luminous spark of lighter color is beautiful next to the deep reds of the other trees.

I surveyed some fellow designers for their favorite fall color varieties and found another Japanese maple favored not only for fall foliage color but the purple leaf color maintained during the summer even in hot situations. Called Red Emperor it's a moderate grower to 15 ft tall and wide. Like other Japanese maples it needs regular watering-weekly or more often in extreme heat especially during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Watering can be reduced after establishment. Keeping mulch over the root zone is vitally important in our hot summers. Japanese maples look dramatic when planted with Japanese Forest grass, deer fern, flowering cherry and coral Bells.

Another favorite of mine for fall color is Crape Myrtle. You see them covered with large, colorful flowers starting in summer and lasting through fall. They are planted everywhere for good reason. Easy to grow and fast growing they take heat or cool coastal conditions. They are not fussy about soil and ask only for deep but infrequent watering. As if the flower color weren't enough to attract you, they absolutely glow in the fall with shades of red, orange and yellow. I'm partial to purple flowers so varieties like Catawba, Muskogee and Zuni top my list. Watermelon red and other bright red flowering varieties are also popular.

A great tree for the gardener interested in edibles is the Fuyu persimmon. This beautiful small tree is ornamental with glossy green leaves and also offers a dramatic fall display in shades of yellow, orange and red. Bright orange fruit begins to develop in late October and clings to bare branches usually through December. The tree looks more like it's covered with holiday ornaments than fruit.

Chinese pistache is a good tree for a patio, lawn or streetside. They can get by with almost no water but will tolerate lawn watering if drainage is good. Luminous orange to red fall foliage color is reliable even in mild winter areas. They are usually grown from seedlings.  When you buy one, it might be either male or female but a male tree without berries will develop better color.

Other trees with vivid autumn color that also do well in our area include red maples like October Glory and Autumn blaze, liquidamber, ginkgo, ornamental pear, cherry or crabapple, dogwood, goldenrain, locust, katsura, oak, redbud, sumac. All add to the fall drama of the landscape.
 
Now through late fall is a good time to shop for trees that change colors because you can see in person just what shade of crimson, orange, scarlet or gold they will be. I'm off to the eastern side of the Sierra to see for myself the Black oak and Quaking aspen fall color.