Plant Lovers' Almanac: Maples, sourwoods, sourgums display spectacular fall foliage
Returning to Ohio after hiking out west, the familiar plants of Secrest Arborertum in Wooster and my backyard beckon. Bottlebrush buckeyes show a pleasant soft yellow mixed with green that I had not noticed before in autumn. More improbably, prickly pear cactus has beautiful red-purple fruits to blend with their flat pads or paddles and the prominent spines at Secrest Arboretum. Though cactus seems more like a plant native to the western states I just departed, there is a species of prickly pear native to Ohio (Opuntia humifusa) growing in sandy habitats.
Also, something truly exotic growing at Secrest was Poncirus trifoliata, Japanese bitter-orange or hardy orange. I have never seen this shrub so proliferous of fruits as I did the other day, almost looking like a small orange tree. Do not be fooled, the fruits are quite bitter, but can be prepared, with enough sugar, into an unusual and tasty bitter orange marmalade. Try it. Fall foliage is afoot on fothergilla, with delightful deep salmon-colored leaves. And once again, I must confess that “hydrangeas, I hardly knew ye” as Fire Light Tidbit panicled hydrangea at the Secrest trial not only progressed from white to dark reds with the season but also was glorious in its simultaneous multicolored stage now in mid-October.
It’s maple time
Many fall foliage discussions begin with maples, and this year is no different. Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) and their golden-oranges are already luminous in some cases. One favorite in my yard is the three-flowered maple (A. triflorum), with its spectacular deep red-oranges, and although mine is not yet in full flare, one of my favorites at Secrest Arboretum started its peak last weekend.
Names, as ever, matter, and Freeman maples, hybrid intermediates of red maple, A. rubrum, (better fall color and smaller leaves) and silver maple, A. saccharinum (faster growth but more storm breakage), are common. One popular Freeman maple is Autumn Blaze, a hybrid noted by nurseryman Glen Jeffers in Fostoria, Ohio, in the 1960s and then cloned. It is a standout now, as is a red maple named Sun Valley, a cross between the ever-popular Red Sunset and Autumn Flame, with smaller leaves even than the usual red maple and its bright orange-red foliar color.
Sourwood and sourgum
Having praised maples, I must admit that my absolute favorites in fall are two unrelated trees: sourwood or lily of-the-valley tree (Oxydendrum arboretum) in the rhododendron or heath family (Ericaceae) and sourgum or tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) in its own family (Nyssaceae).
Sourwood is a small tree that spirals its way up into the woodland canopy but in landscapes excels as a small to medium specimen tree. Intense scarlet fall foliage is the key feature along with layers of flower panicles that sport small, dry fruits that provide a lacey, delicate aspect to the tree.
One caution: It is an acid-loving tree, so if you have high pH (alkaline) soils, do not torture a sourwood by planting it there. If you have the right soil, the combination right now of that intense fall color and the layers of panicles is a delight.
It is more of a southerly native, but is becoming increasingly more adapted to Northeast Ohio.
Sourgum is common in local woodlands and also delivers wonderful fall color, though on individual trees color may range from a pastel orange to the most intense scarlets, sometimes on the same tree at the same time and sometimes in sequence.
It is becoming very popular for landscape designers, especially with the introduction of an abundant array of cultivated varieties, mostly selected for duration and intensity of red foliage (Firestarter, Wildfire, Forest Fire, Red Rage, etc.), but also for an upright habit (Tupelo Tower), variegated foliage (Sheri’s Cloud) and even distorted growth habit (Zydeco Twist). There are attractive blue fruits if you buy both male and female sourgums, and enjoyed by wildlife, but are not abundant.
It prefers acid soils, but it's not as picky as sourwood.
Plant Lovers’ Almanac: Enjoy autumn as it slowly unfolds
ArborEatUm
Come one, come all, plant and food lovers. ArborEatUm is a smorgasbord of landscape delights; edible landscaping at its most personal. A fun evening of sampling creative landscape (food) design. Past standouts include pawpaw crème brulee and trifle, ramp soup, the multiple creations of Lois Rose, master gardener volunteer, from medlar jam to crème de cassis, from bitter orange marmalade to kousa dogwood jam (Lois cannot come this year but has sent an array of her delicacies), aronia thumbprint cookies, autumn olive pate de fruits, Dolgo crab apple butter, and fringe tree olives.
The program will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Ohio State University’s Secrest Arboretum in Wooster at the Miller Pavilion and arboretum grounds (there will be a walk). No fee. Bring samples or just be a consumer horticulturist. And channel your creative and culinary juices.
A final sentiment
Finally, from Schiller Park in the German Village area of Columbus: “Life must smile upon the blooming plants that the seasons round her cast.” The quote is from Friedrich Schiller, the German dramatist, poet and the author of “Ode to Joy” that Beethoven used with his Ninth Symphony. He was a friend of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Alexander von Humboldt in their Jena days and became a professor at the University of Jena before his untimely death at 45 in 1805. At Schiller Park many of his thoughts are expressed in stone tablets amidst the bricks that border the display gardens. Visit Schiller Park and dine at the local restaurants and pastry shops.
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Jim Chatfield is a horticulture educator and professor emeritus at Ohio State University Extension. If you have questions about caring for your garden, write to chatfield.1@osu.edu or call 330-466-0270. Please include your phone number if you write.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Maples, sourwoods, sourgums display spectacular fall foliage
