Autumn special plants at Ortus Arboretum

Happy Friday GPODers!

Fall is officially here, and Alison Levy of Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is back to tell us about some of the underappreciated and underappreciated plants that are making their mark this fall. Masu.

If you missed her first post, be sure to check it out here: Growing Pawpaws at Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Garden) Allison and her partner Scott Serrano are co-founders of Ortus Arboretum and Botanical Garden. , Executive Director. Stone Ridge, New York is on a mission to preserve native, rare, and historic plants while welcoming and educating the public in its stunning spaces. We are so lucky to have Alison not only willing to share beautiful photos of the amazing plants that grow at the Hortus Arboretum, but also to share her wealth of knowledge about these botanical wonders.

Although the temperature in the mornings and evenings are dropping and we are now wearing long sleeves during the day, there are still many things you can do in the garden. I think one of the highlights of doing fall cleaning jobs is appreciating the beauty of plants from another season, as spent flower seeds produce interestingly shaped seed pods. Berry-producing shrubs and vines continue to provide ornamental and edible fruits that remain pigmented. The leaves begin to change their autumn colors as chemical reactions in the leaves react to the shortened photosynthesis time. And countless trees and shrubs that have proven to be fall flower winners give us one last hurray. It’s like thumbing your nose at Mother Nature. We’re not done here yet, as we harvest corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and the usual edible suspects that most gardeners have been nourishing and tending to this summer.

The garden I work in is an arboretum, a place where trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants are grown for ornamental and educational purposes. As one of its founding directors, I have wide discretion to grow and experiment with a wide variety of plants. Some of these plants are beloved and often found in many gardeners’ backyards. Dogwood (Hydrangea quercifolia, zones 5-8), oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia, zones 5-9), summersweet (Clethra spp., zones 4-9). These plants are becoming increasingly popular because they offer beautiful blooms from mid-spring to late summer, amazing changes in leaf color, fruit displays, and seed pods. But that’s just one of the plants in a long list of ornamental and edible woody plants that extend seasonal interest into fall.

Dogwoods are widely prized trees that display great fall color, as demonstrated by the arboretum’s cultivar ‘Satomi’ (Cornus kous ‘Satomi’, zones 5-8).

For those adventurous enough to plant lesser-known trees and shrubs, there are also many plants available at nurseries with a better selection. Sevenson flower tree (Heptacodium miconidoes, zones 5 to 9) is a good candidate. Although considered endangered in its native China, it has been cultivated for the past 40 years and more widely planted by savvy landscapers over the past 20 years. This beautiful small tree (often multi-branched) grows to about 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide, is low-maintenance, blooms in August in New York’s Hudson Valley, and produces white flowers in late… are highly valued by pollinators. In autumn, the remaining flower parts (sepals) turn a bright deep pink or even burgundy color, and can sometimes be mistaken for flowers. The brightly colored sepals remain on the tree for a long time, prolonging the tree’s fall color. If the stunning fall colors aren’t enough, the white and tan bark peels off in long bands, often producing white and coral beneath the bark, giving this stunning tree its seasonal appeal. Masu. If you live in planting zones 5 through 9, find a spot in a sunny or semi-shady environment where you can see it every day.

The naturally exfoliated bark of the Sevenson flower tree is different on every tree, creating layers of visual interest. The bright, dark pink remaining flower parts (sepals) keep the flowers blooming for a long time.

Witch alder (Fothergilla spp., zones 5 to 8) is a genus native to the Southeast that includes several species of shrubs ranging in size from 3 feet to 10 feet (or more) and suitable for varying degrees of garden situations. very adaptable to. These slow-growing shrubs with zigzag branching give the plants a dense appearance. They can also be tucked along flower borders and foundation plantings, and used in bulk or as single specimens along forest edges. At the arboretum, we plant them in both full shade and semi-shade areas of the tree belt. We planted it in a sunny environment for others and it worked fine. These amazingly adaptable heirloom species bloom before the greenish-blue leaves fully emerge, and the small white bottlebrush inflorescences last three weeks in the spring and are beneficial to early pollinators. The flowers have no petals, but a collection of milky-white thread-like stamens with yellow anthers. But the real attraction for me is autumn, when the leaves appear in a kaleidoscope of red, yellow, orange and even pink on the same leaf. The degree of color is influenced by sunlight, humidity, temperature and genetics, so some years are better and others are better, but in any case, witch alder is a plant that deserves more home gardens .

A kaleidoscope of fall colors vibrates from the alder trunks, continuously displaying multiple hues that keep changing as the season progresses. The bottlebrush flower display with its sweet scent begins before the leaves appear.

For those who want to plant fruit-bearing trees, we highly recommend planting a long-lived, self-fertile tree called Medlar (Mespilus germanica, zones 5-8). This ancient but little-known fruit tree is native to the Anatolian region, is still widely cultivated, and is slightly better known in Europe than in the United States. This unique and beautiful tree belongs to the Rosaceae family and is related to well-known pear trees such as apple and hawthorn. Many visitors to this garden mistake this relatively short (up to 20 feet), crooked-growing tree for an apple. However, the arboretum has found that we don’t have any of the pest problems that apple trees in our area have. In spring, it blooms even more beautiful flowers than apples, and can be mistaken for small white camellias. In the summer, the yellow-brown fruits begin to grow, and in the fall, when the temperatures begin to drop, the medlar fruits ripen. The large, dark green tropical leaves turn buttery yellow in autumn, enhancing the overall decorative effect on the fruit. The fruit itself begins to ripen after a few days of exposure to frost, turning a maroon color, and when fully ripe (called “bletting”) it has a consistency and taste similar to applesauce with a hint of cinnamon. It will be. For us gardeners, this is one of the few fruits that can be harvested and eaten in the middle of winter. Even if you’re not interested in the medlar fruit itself, it gives the tree another season, as it stays on the branches through the winter and provides food for all kinds of wildlife.

The deep yellow color of the large leaves of the medlar tree creates an eye-catching background for the almost red-purple fruit. And as many deciduous trees lose their autumn leaves, the color of mature medlars in early fall becomes even more pronounced.

Alison, thank you for sharing all these beautiful photos and plants! I’ve heard of the Sevenson Flower or Witch Adler before, but I’m completely new to Medlar and now I’m learning more about that cute little fruit. I would love to try one. I’m already looking forward to seeing what I can learn from my next submission 🙂

I hope everyone has a wonderful autumn weekend. If you find a plant with particularly nice colors, flowers, or fruit, be sure to take a photo and send it to us by following the steps below.

Do you have a garden you would like to share?

Do you have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a collection of particular plants you love, or any amazing gardens you’ve had the chance to visit.

To submit, please send 5-10 photos to: (email protected) It also includes information about the plants in the photo and the location where the photo was taken. We’d love to hear about where you live, your gardening history, any successes you’re proud of, what you’ve learned from failures, your hopes for the future, your favorite plants, and any funny stories that happen in your garden.

Have a cell phone? Tag your photos with #FineGardening on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Already receive GPOD by email? Sign up here.