- Author: Anne Schellman
- Editor: Roger A Duncan
Want fall color in your landscape next year?
Read about the trees you've noticed around town that are currently “popping” with color. And, if you plant a tree now (or in early spring), you can have fall color in your landscape next year! Here are some excellent tree species to choose from that thrive in our area (USDA Zone 9b):
Chinese Pistache – Pistachia chinensis
The Chinese pistache is Ed Perry's favorite tree. Ed was the Environmental Horticulture Advisor for over 35 years at UC Cooperative Extension in Stanislaus County. He chose this tree not only for its fall color, but because it produces good shade and has “well-behaved” roots. Opt for the male cultivar ‘Keith Davey.' Female cultivars have colorful berries which although pretty, are considered messy and not suitable for over a patio.
Height: 30-50'
Light needs: Plant in full sun.
Water needs: Moderate. Does well in lawns.
Note: You can't go wrong with this tree! Also, it is not closely related to the nut bearing pistachio tree.
Maple Trees – Acer rubrum
Light needs: Plant in full sun or partial shade.
Height: 40-50'
Water needs: Regular water. Does well in lawns, but water separately from the lawn.
Note: Sprinkler water will not be enough for this tree.
Bradford Flowering Pear – Prunus calleryana ‘Bradford'
This flowering pear has cheerful white blooms in spring and produce fall color during cool winters. Their roots are well-behaved so they can be planted near sidewalk. Please note, many cultivars of flowering pear have problems such as mistletoe and fireblight. Make sure you choose a Bradford pear. After bloom, this tree does drop small fruits that are messy.
Height: 40-50'
Light needs: Plant in full sun.
Water needs: Moderate. Does well in lawns.
Note: although bred to be fruitless, the Bradford pear cross pollinates with other pears which is why it produces inedible “fruit.”
Japanese Maple Trees – Acer palmatum
Light needs: Plant in partial shade, some species (‘Emperor One') are adapted to full sun.
Height: 6-20', varies. Do some research before choosing your tree.
Water needs: Regular water.
Note: This tree can give year-round interest!
Ginkgo – Ginkgo biloba
This ancient tree existed long before dinosaurs roamed the earth. In fact, fossils of gingko leaves have been discovered from the Jurassic period! Ginkgo trees leaves turn a beautiful golden color in fall. Choose a male cultivar such as ‘Saratoga' or ‘Autumn Gold.' Female cultivars produce fruit that some people consider unpleasant.
Light needs: Plant in full sun.
Height: 30-50.'
Water needs: Moderate water; can tolerate drought but won't look healthy.
Note: Excellent street or patio tree, also does well in a lawn.
Liquidambar – Liquidambar styraciflua
Light needs: Plant in full sun.
Height: 50-60.'
Water needs: Regular water.
Note: Surface roots can crack sidewalks and come up in lawns.
Tree Notes – Choosing a Tree
When choosing a tree, look for one with leaves growing along the entire stem. Avoid trees that resemble a mature tree (with a long stem and a heavy top). The leaves are necessary to help the tree develop a strong trunk.
Tree Notes – Planting
Planting a tree correctly is essential to having a healthy tree. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Remove the tree stake.
Step 2: Dig a hole twice as wide but the same depth as the container.
Step 3: After removing the “root ball” (area of soil and roots) from the container, set it in the hole.
Step 4: Make sure the top of the root ball is lined up with the surrounding soil or a little higher.
Step 5: Fill in around the root ball with removed soil, do not cover over the root ball with soil. Make sure the root ball is still showing and is level with the ground.
Step 6: Create a basin around the base of the tree and water well.
Tree Notes – Staking
If you remove the stake from your new tree and it falls over, return the tree. Healthy trees should not fall over and do not need to be staked. In fact, a tree that can't stand upright that grows into a mature tree is likely to become a landscape hazard** in the future.
Allowing your new tree to sway with the wind helps it develop a strong trunk and root system. The only time it is recommended to stake trees is in areas with heavy wind. In this case, two stakes should be used, and then removed after one year. Learn more about tree staking in the Planting Landscape Trees publication below.
Tree Notes – Water
All newly planted trees need regular water for the first 2-5 years after planting. Regular water means keeping the soil moist but not too wet or allowing it to dry out. Once their roots are established, trees need deep water once or twice per month during the dry season (May-October), depending on temperature, tree species, soil type, and other factors.
Resources
Stanislaus County Tree Guide
Looking for more tree recommendations? Visit our publications page and scroll to the bottom of the page to click on our “Trees in Your Home Garden” publication at https://cestanislaus.ucanr.edu/Gardening_Publications/
Planting Landscape Trees
https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8046.pdf
*University research has shown that adding amendments such as compost and fertilizer to planting holes does not help trees; in fact, it can cause problem. Read more at https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=46215
**worried you may have a hazardous tree in your landscape? Download this free guide for tips on how to inspect it. https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8365.pdf
/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h4>- Author: Denise Godbout-Avant
Why do some trees change color and drop their leaves before winter? And why are there different colors?
Leaves are colored by pigment molecules. Most leaves appear green because they contain an abundance of the pigment chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the site of photosynthesis where the sun's energy is converted into the carbohydrates that are plants' food source. During the cold winter months when there is less sunlight, it would take too much energy for some trees to keep their leaves healthy. So deciduous trees lose their leaves for the winter. Evergreen trees have a different strategy for dealing with winter's challenges (which is a topic for another time!).
Elevation, latitude and weather all affect the timing and intensity of fall colors. Higher elevations and northern latitudes produce earlier autumn colors in trees. In general, autumn weather with lots of sunny days, dry weather, and cold, frostless nights will produce the most vibrant palette of fall colors. Some trees that can produce vivid colors include maples, gingkos, aspen, birches, Japanese maples, liquidamber, cherry, redbud, Chinese pistache, and dogwood.
In the Central Valley we usually don't get the glorious colors like the Sierra Mountains or the east coast, but we do get some color which usually starts in early November. So, enjoy the autumn jewels since it occurs only for a brief period each fall!
Denise Godbout-Avant has been a UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardener since July 2020.
- Author: Kathy Thomas-Rico
By Kathy Thomas-Rico
From where I sit, I have a bird’s-eye view of the changing leaf colors that fall brings. Who says California doesn’t have autumnal color? Vacaville’s stately evergreens — oaks, redwoods, Italian cypress, even palms — are getting some colorful competition from the Chinese pistache, liquidambars and ‘Raywood’ ashes.
Alas, nothing yet from the ginkgos, what some folks call maidenhair trees. Patience pays off with these trees; the colorful show will come a little later in autumn. If you are in the market for a showstopper of a tree, one that’s rather slow growing and pest resistant, a visit to the nursery to look at ginkgos is in order. If your yard is not huge, consider a dwarf or semi-dwarf variety, as full-sized ginkgos can reach 80 feet in height. And make sure you pick out a male ginkgo; female trees produce messy, smelly fruit.
Here are some examples, which should be available regionally. Check online for availability:
‘Jade Butterfly’ — Large, scalloped leaves are divided almost in two in the center evoking the image of fluttering butterflies. As a semi-dwarf ginkgo, one can expect a height of 9-12 feet in about 10 years — less if grown in a container.
‘Jehosephat’ — Very dense and very slow growing. Expect a height of 6-8 feet in 10 years. Height, as with all dwarf and semi-dwarf ginkgos, is variable depending on climate, soil conditions, fertilizer.
‘Mariken’ — This unique ginkgo naturally grows in a tight, globe shape. It is a dwarf yet has a typical leaf size.
‘Munchkin’ — Tiny leaves and twiggy branches. Munchkin is slow growing to around 3 feet in 10 years. This may be the smallest growing of the dwarf ginkgos.
‘Shangri-La’ — A fine, upright growing male variety with golden fall foliage.
‘Thelma’ — New compact form. Some leaves emerge fringed, some are rolled. The same tree will display lacy foliage right next to small, rolled leaves. Thelma is pretty wild.
‘Troll’ — Small, deep green foliage is arranged in irregular clumps. The foliage also appears very dense. Dwarf.
- Author: Marime Burton
Every September and early October I listen to my friend in Salem, MA rave about the fall color where she lives. I’ve seen it and I know what she means. It’s iconic autumn color and it’s spectacular. I’ve often heard out-of-staters pity us because we don’t enjoy a change of seasons that would bring us such glorious landscapes.
What my friends and most others who do not live here don’t understand, is that we do, in fact enjoy vivid fall color; it’s just later in the year. From the Bradford pear trees across the street from me to the Ginkgo down the block, to the spectacular red Chinese Pistache a few blocks away, my neighborhood is awash in fall color. It just happens that it’s December.
Rather than pity us for our lack of seasonal change, non-Northern Californians should marvel at the fact that we can experience all four seasons at the same time! Within a couple of miles of my house I can see trees arrayed in autumn finery, the rich, dark soil of plowed winter fields, beautiful spring grains and grasses sprouting in the valley and up the hill sides, and colorful flowers growing in home gardens.
Aren’t we lucky? Where else could we experience all four seasons in one place and at one time.
- Author: Patricia Brantley
Having never been to the Eastern United States during the fall season, I can only use the T.V. and photos to get an idea of what the fall color must be in places like Vermont, Connecticut and such. But, like so many things there is always the feeling that I’m missing out on something. Driving around town we see “pops” of color, a line of yellow ginkgos, or purplish-red myrtles, but nothing like we’ve seen in the jigsaw puzzles of the covered bridges with that blanket of red or orange as its backdrop.
Of course the day I returned it was pouring rain and so the shots I got just don’t do justice, but you get the idea. The colors were still outrageous through the mist and rain. I would highly encourage anyone in search of "color" take a short drive through our local wine country and enjoy.