Fall plant picks for perennials and trees

Fri. Sep. 11, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Fall plant picks for perennials and trees

 As we work our way into Fall there are some plants that we all associate with that time of year.  I talked about some annual Fall picks last week, in particular, mums – the annual kind and the hardy mums! 

But what about other perennials. Sky Blue Aster is a true native plant with a sturdy growth habit of around 3 feet tall.

Sky blue aster

There’s also Smooth Blue Aster, another similar native.

Smooth Blue Aster

Of course, Blackeyed Susans are beauties into October, they’re listed at growing to 3 ft. tall, mine are well over 5 ft. 

Aug. 2020 with Ironweed in the background
perspective!

Blueberry bushes are thought of mainly for their fabulous blueberries but they offer stunning red Fall foliage.

Blueberry fall foliage – photo by Teri Knight

There are many newer cultivars for cold zone gardens.The caveat is that they require an acidic soil, which means testing your soil and amending as recommended. Do this before planting. Learn more about growing blueberries HERE

 Another late blooming beauty is ‘New England Aster’. Careful, this guy can grow to 7 ft. tall with loads of small purplish pink flowers that last from August to October, making it a magnet for butterflies.

My New England aster with monarch! 9-21-19

And there’s Goldenrod. This is a native that does NOT cause allergies to flare, although it often gets blamed. There are some garden cultivars of this pretty yellow plant that also has multiple medicinal purposes. It’s actually an herb with the Latin name Solidago, which means “to make whole or heal”. 

Goldenrod photo by Melody Lytle

Since now’s a great time to plant trees, there are Maples, Honeylocust, Black gum, Shagbark hickory and more

Red maple 6-20-20 – getting ready for roadwork! A LOT of roadwork
Red maple and burning bush 2014 – the burning bush is gone…
Honeylocust in Spring is chartreuse  photo by Teri Knight 2000
Thornless honeylocust Fall color
Shagbark Hickory photo by MN DNR

The Shagbark hickory foliage turns yellow in the Fall.

Black gum tree Fall color