Autumn Shades🍂😍

Autumn Photo Collage - Easy Big Trees

This week Harry has decided to get all colourful.  Well, not Harry himself.  Rather, it’s the fine selection he has chosen that has the colour.  These are the Autumn Colour Trees that, as Autumn bears down on us, showcase the beauty of nature to put on the most remarkable annual show.

Also, we have a wee clip from around the nursery this week. Click Here to view the video.

ACER rubrum 'October Glory' - Canadian Maple

ACER rubrum 60lt - April
ACER rubrum Autumn Blaze - March

The deep green lobed leaves of summer create a neatly presented aesthetic.  Tidy and upright, the ‘red sunset’ stands there elegantly as you patiently wait for Autumn and the crimson colour show that comes with it.  That show, when the red veins of the leaves spread the colour to each lobe tip, seems almost unreal or otherworldly.  Ideal for smaller gardens and avenues, this well structured maple also makes for a colourful shelter or screen.  This decidious, hardy example will grow up to 10m

ACER rubrum - Millbrook, April

Street planting as shown in Millbrook, Arrowtown

FRAXINUS oxycarpa 'Raywoodii' - Claret Ash

FRAXINUS oxycarpa 'Raywoodii' - April
FRAXINUS oxycarpa 'Raywoodii' 80lt - April

Growing upright, the Claret Ash has a sense of formality to it when youthful.  Something it keeps into maturity as it grows, changing into a well rounded tree.  During the summer months, the narrow and glossy leaves have a deep green colour that practically screams vitality.  In Autumn, the showpiece is revealed.  It is as if someone has poured a rich claret over the foliage.  The deciduous Claret Ash is tolerant of dry conditions and will grow to 10 x 5m.

FRAXINUS oxycarpa 'Raywoodii' - Queenstown

LIQUIDAMBAR styraciflua 'Worplesdon' - Sweet Gum

LIQUIDAMBAR styraciflua 'Worpelsdon' 80lt - March
LIQUIDAMBAR styraciflua 'Worpelsdon' - March

This is one of those trees that takes your breath away with its colour. The upright pyramidal form puts on a stunning show as the large star-shaped leaves change from resplendent green to gold, then vibrant orange. The colour show reaches its attention grabbing crescendo when the red, crimson and purple shades come though. It’s a display suited to avenues, laneways and entranceways.

LIQUIDAMBAR styraciflua 'Worpelsdon' - Wanaka, April

Stunning Avenue of Liquidambar, Wanaka

MALUS 'Echtermeyer' - Weeping Crabapple

MALUS 'Echtermeyer' - April
MALUS 'Echtermeyer' 30lt - April

This weeping tree is short in stature but big in beauty.  Every year, it produces a crimson-red single blossom of such appeal, it will draw you in, practically asking you to delicately hold its beauty in your hand for a moment.  When the blossom retreats, small glossy crabapples appear, providing food for the wildlife.  New foliage first appears as bright red, before turning green, contrasting wonderfully against the purple-black branch stems.  Deciduous, the weeping crabapple will grow to a maximum height of around 3m.

SORBUS arnoldiana 'Kirstens Pink' - Pink Berry Rowan

SORBUS 'Kristens Pink' 30lt - March
SORBUS 'Kristens Pink' - March

It’s the berries. Arriving in heavy clusters in Autumn and through winter, the pink to rose colouring provides a vivid colour set against the often grey skies. The foliage is decorative, leaves pinnate and of a rich green colour in summer which makes way for a fiery red, orange and purple in winter. This small shrubby tree is showy in the very best way. Deciduous and growing to 5 x 3 m.

Sorbus - Arrowtown - April

Plantings in the streets of Arrowtown showing their full glory!

ULMUS hollandica 'Lobel' - Upright Elm

ULMUS hollandica 'Lobel' - April
ULMUS hollandica 'Lobel' 300lt - April

The dark green leaves are small, rough and closely arranged on short branches which maintain a pyramidal form, eventually forming a dense crown. They turn a striking bronze colour in Autumn and make for a remarkable site when planted in lines to define a street or avenue. A hardy tree, it’s particularly well suited to coastal areas, tolerating salt winds well. This deciduous tree will grow to 10 x 5m.

ULMUS hollandica 'Lobel' - Canterbury, April

Street plantings of Ulmus ‘Lobel’ in Pegasus, Canterbury
Archives