Beyond Aspens: Native Plants with Fall Color
- Jen Toews
- Oct 3, 2018
- 6 min read
By now, most spring and summer wildflowers have faded, but don’t fret: The shorter days and cooler temperatures have brought with them an autumnal kaleidoscope of yellows, golds, oranges, bronzes, reds, and purples. I recently wrote a post about fall aspen color, which is just one species that lights up the wildlands of the Southern Rockies in the fall. However, there are many other herbs, shrubs, and trees of this region which exhibit fine fall color, and many of these, unlike the aspen, would do well integrated into wildscapes and landscapes of the Denver Metro Area.
The first plant, sticky geranium (Geranium viscosissimum) deserves more cred as a landscaping plant. Commonly found from the plains to the subalpine life zones of Colorado, this perennial herb has leaves that flush shades of yellows, oranges and reds in the fall. Because the pink to rose-purple flowers have a long bloom season, flowers may be present even as the leaves are changing colors. This drought-tolerant plant, which is visited by butterflies and native bees, is a great addition to perennial borders, rock, and woodland gardens. The closely-related, sometimes difficult to tell apart, Richardson's geranium (Geranium richardsonii), could fill the same role in a garden. Or, pineywoods geranium (Geranium caespitosum). Next spring, I intend to ask my local nursery why they do not carry native geranium. Undoubtedly the customer service associate will respond the same way he did last week when I asked about Jamesia americana, which was: "We don't carry those. You know who did a good job of carrying natives was Timberline Gardens." I guess I'm not the only one with a Timberline-shaped hole in my heart.
Photo: Geranium sp., Lily Lake Trail near Allenspark, CO
Other colorful herbaceous plants suitable for landscaping include: leafy cinquefoil (Drymocallis fissa) and sulphur flower (Eriogonum umbellatum).
Moving on to grasses, perhaps the most well known for fall color is little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). This 2-3 foot tall native has a tufting habit, and tufts change in color from bluish-green to striking shades of rust and copper as summer wanes. Silvery-white seed heads are stunning when backlit by fall sunshine. A component of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem, little bluestem makes an excellent backdrop for showy native asters such as Mexican hat (Ratibida columnifera), black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), blanket flower (Gaillardia aristata), and purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) while providing food and shelter for wildlife. It also looks damn good with native Artemisia spp. as the photo taken in the Laura Smith Porter Plains Garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens illustrates. The cultivar 'Blaze' is known for its vivid red fall color.
Other native grasses known for fall color include: big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)--red burgundy, silver beardgrass (Andropogon saccharoides)--orange, and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans)--golden orange.
There are myriad native shrubs with good fall color. One of my favorites is golden currant (Ribes aureum). This shrub is one of the first to bloom in the plains to montane life zones of Colorado. Flowers are as golden as the spring sunshine and their fragrance has been compared to cloves. Shiny, bluish-black berries follow, which are attractive to songbirds and also to some humans who have learned they are tasty in jams and jellies. As fall approaches, maple-like leaves turn crimson one by one until the entire plant goes up in a blaze of color. This medium-sized shrub is easy-to-grow, tolerates a wide variety of soil types, and should be integrated into yards across the Front Range. The cultivar 'Gwen's Buffalo' is a selection from WY that is known for its abundant production of fruit.
Photo: Ribes aureum, by Mike Kintgen, Wildflower Ranch, Steamboat Springs, CO
Another shrub, which carpets woodlands and slopes across the state, is Oregon grape (Berberis repens). The sunny-yellow flowers of this plant bloom early in the foothills of the Front Range. They soon fade, but the plant's leaves persist throughout the year. What's more is that without fail, some of these evergreen leaves turn red by fall, contrasting nicely with the remaining green leaves and numerous clusters of icy blue berries. The photo below was taken in the Ponderosa Pine Border at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
Moving up in stature is Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii). This large shrub to small tree can put on quite a show during a good year. 2015 on the Western Slope was one of those years. The photo below was taken at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison on a fall trip to southwestern CO. Visit Roxborough State Park or Deer Creek Canyon in the fall and you may be rewarded with vivid red color. If the leaves are brown, try again next year.
Another large shrub/small tree, Western chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), lights up forests, canyons, streamsides, and lakesides with yellows, golds, and oranges. Leaves support native butterflies and moths and the purplish-black berries are important for songbirds. This shrub or tree offers many ecosystem services, but it does tend to sucker around the garden. Fortunately, there is a new cultivar, Prunus × virginiana ‘P002S’ Sucker Punch®, which has been selected for not suckering. This cultivar has reddish-purple fall color. The photo below is Prunus virginiana var. melanocarpa growing on the margins of Lily Lake near Allenspark, CO.
Redosier dogwood (Cornus sericea) (not pictured--YET!) is a widespread shrub found in the cool moist ravines and shady canyons of Colorado. This native has leaves that exhibit various shades of orange, red and purple in the fall. As autumn succumbs to winter, leaves drop to expose brilliant red twigs that provide interest until spring paints the landscape green again.
Other native shrubs and/or trees with notable fall color that can be used to landscape include: Rhus trilobata, R. glabra, Acer grandidentatum, Amelanchier alnifolia, Physocarpus monogyna, and of course one of my all-time favorites, Jamesia americana.
Jamesia americana and a story
Last week I took my father, who was visiting from out of town, to Rocky Mountain N.P. to see the aspens change. I was also on the lookout for other native plants with fall color to photograph for an article I was writing for work. Before entering the Park we stopped at the visitor center to inquire about short hikes that might yield good fall color "not necessarily of the aspen variety," I explained to the ranger. He looked me squarely in the eye and declared: "Aspens are the only fall color in the park. This is a coniferous forest." He probably assumed I was a tourist from the East Coast looking for maple, ash, oak, hornbeam, witch hazels, and etc., so I tried again: "What I really need is a photo of yellow chokecherry leaves." He further mansplained to me that there was no chokecherry in the park. "Well what about Ribes?" I asked. "There's none of that plant either," was his response. I left the visitor center more determined than ever to find fall color and also to prove him wrong about the chokecherry and the Ribes.*
We stopped at one of the first pullouts. While the leaf peepers were gawking at a clump of golden-leaved aspens, I was in a ditch on the other side of the road admiring and photographing waxflower (Jamesia americana). An attractive shrub, waxflower boasts some of the best fall color with its scarlet-red-purplish-green leaves. The grayish-white stems that peep through the foliage are also striking. This shrub is an all-season beauty with waxy white 4-5 petaled flowers and thick, green leaves that have prominent and lovely venation. Waxflower is now marketed by Plant Select® because it is a "durable, resilient, unique and vibrant plant for western gardens and beyond." Not the easiest plant to find in a nursery, look for it each May at the Denver Botanic Gardens spring plant sale or the CO Native Plant Society sale, which usually occurs in April.
Here's some more fall color: leafy cinquefoil, wild strawberry, and wild rose
Yellow fall color:
These are just a few native plants that brighten Colorado’s wildlands and urban landscapes during autumn. There are many more taxa throughout Colorado which herald the changing season with fall color. In closing, welcome to autumn, “a second spring when every leaf is a flower” (Albert Camus).
* * * End * * *
*Rocky Mountain N.P. "Shrubs" lists both chokecherry and Ribes (wax currant), although "current" is currently misspelled.
https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/nature/shrubs.htm. Accessed 3 October, 2018.
And yes, I was in a feisty mood when I wrote this post.
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