Fall for color

Are you looking for more fall color in your yard?

Thanks to the weather, this has generally not been the best year for color. But if you plan and plant, you can do better in years to come.

Here are suggestions from Todd Jacobson, manager of horticulture at the Morton Arborteum in Lisle.

But be warned: There's not much time left for planting. Jacobson said it's best to get trees and shrubs in the ground before the middle of this month.

Here are examples of colorful plants recommended by this tree lover.

Large trees

Gingko trees are among Jacobson's favorite.

These shade trees are green in the summer, then turn yellow gold in the fall.

The cultivars available today are only males, which means they do not drop the messy and smelly fruit you might dread when someone mentions this favorite of Frank Lloyd Wright.

They are Princeton Sentry, which is upright and narrow, and Autumn Gold and Magyar, which spread wider.

They grow 50 feet or taller.

Black gum or Tupelo, Nyssa sylvatica, will give you the reds and oranges you might crave.

The trees do well in wet areas and near bodies of water. They might get as tall as 70 feet.

European larch, larix decidua, looks like a Christmas tree when it's young, but the branches droop and become almost pendulous with age. The needles turn golden, then drop, which makes some people call them semi-evergreen. It is said these can reach 100 feet tall.

Bald cypress, taxodium distichum, needs wet soil, and also drops its needles after they turn an orange or russet color.

Shawnee Brave or Mickelson can grow 70 feet tall and is pyramidal.

Smaller trees

Another red-orange treat is the serviceberry or amelanchier. A bonus is the winter color provided by the grayish black, almost streaky stems.

And Jacobson said there is no danger of the berries becoming a nuisance because birds eat them quickly. He said the trees can grow to 18 or 20 feet.

Small trees

Some Japanese maples, acer palmatum, are green in the summer, but they are generally known for their purple burgundy to brilliant orange color.

One bit of good news is that they will grow in part shade. Japanese maples should be planted in a protected site with good moisture.

Jacobson likes dissectum atropurpureum, which grows about 6 feet tall.

Crab apples feature yellow and orange fall colors, but Satin Cloud turns red and grows 6 feet tall.

Shrubs

Spirea thunbergii Ogon has leaves that resemble willows. They are green to the summer and turn yellow then orange red.

They only grow 3 feet tall.

Betulifolia or white spirea is green in the summer, with hints of orange and rust.

"These are perfect for yards challenged for space," said Jacobson.

Arrow wood or viburnum dentatum is a little taller --maybe 10 to 12 feet.

Jacobson, of course, prefers Morton Northern Burgundy. It is burgundy in shade and yellow, orange and red in the sun.

Blue muffin or christom is maybe half that tall and not only has blue flowers in the spring, but blue fruit in the fall.

Fothergilla gardenii Klmtwo Beaver Creek boasts a round habit that grows 3 or 4 feet tall and wide. Its fall show is red orange.

Its spring blooms are ivory and shaped like bottle brushes in the spring. The green leaves turn red or orange in the fall, and Jacobson says it is almost like a miniature witch hazel

Vernal witch hazel flowers in the spring with tiny yellow, orange or red blooms.

Jacobson likes amamelis vernalis Autumn Embers with its red burgundy fall color. It gets 7 to 8 feet tall, much shorter than common witch hazel.

Perennials

Plan to plant these in the spring for color next fall.

Geraniums or cranesbill bloom purple in May or June. Jacobson compares their foliage with the cut leaf to a small Japanese maple.

The leaves turn purple red in fall.

Amsonia hubrichtii grows 3 to 4 feet tall with fine, elongated needlelike foliage. In May, it produces powder blue flowers. In the fall, the lacy, fine foliage turns brilliant yellow gold.

Jacobson recommends mixing in some asters.

Sedum, which comes in many varieties, is grown for its foliage.

Grass

Flame grass miscanthus sinensis purpurascens presents russet reds and oranges in the fall with fluffy red flowers.

It grows 3 or 4 feet tall and 2 to 2½ feet wide.