Skip to content

Top Navigation

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Home
  • Garden
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Videos
  • Sweeps and Contests

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Midwest Living

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 40 Favorite Comfort Food Recipes

      Macaroni and cheese, Amish apple dumplings and chicken pot pie are among our Midwest comfort food favorites. Read More Next
    • 50 Romantic Midwest Getaways

      Romance, of course, can be wherever the two of you are. But wonderful surroundings help. We found some of the most romantic places anywhere in the Midwest—in the city and country. All you have to do is get away together! Read More Next
    • 50 Decadent Chocolate Dessert Recipes

      Chocolate lovers, these are for you: 50 of our best rich-and-gooey chocolate dessert recipes, including pie, pudding, cake, cookies, fondue and brownies. Read More Next
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel

    50 Midwest Resorts We Love

    Our favorite Midwest resort destinations range from cozy lakeside lodges to indoor water park behemoths. Dive in to check out our top picks for a fabulous Midwest getaway.
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Missouri
    • Nebraska
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • South Dakota
    • Wisconsin
    • Around the Region
    • Free Travel Info
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food

    Midwest Living November/December 2020 Recipes

    • Comfort Foods
    • Desserts & Baking
    • Breakfast
    • Quick & Easy
    • Chicken
    • Soups & Stews
    • Midwest Favorites
    • Fruits & Vegetables
    • Fish
    • Grilling
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home

    50 Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas

    Give your home holiday style in a flash with these simple yet creative decorating projects.
    • Quick Decorating
    • Featured Homes
    • Organizing & Storage
    • Outdoor Living
    • Seasonal Decorating
    • Room Decorating
  • Garden

    Garden

    See All Garden

    14 Cheerful Winter Container Gardens

    Create bountiful outdoor winter arrangements with a little help from Mother Nature.
    • Container Gardens
    • Flowers
    • Featured Gardens
    • Midwest Gardening Calendar
    • Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See All Holidays & Entertaining

    40 Easy Christmas Crafts

    Decorate your home, make a gift or create an ornament with our 40 ideas for fun and easy Christmas crafts.
    • Christmas
    • Valentine's Day
    • Easter
    • July 4th
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
  • Videos

    Videos

    See All Videos
    • How to Make an All-Butter Pie Crust
    • How to Make Pumpkin-Spice Icebox Cake
  • Sweeps and Contests

    Sweeps and Contests

    See All Sweeps and Contests

    Warm-Weather Getaways Sweepstakes

    • Winter Getaways Sweepstakes
    • Warm-Weather Getaways Sweepstakes

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Midwest Living
  2. Garden
  3. Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  4. 10 Midwest Plants for Instant Fall Color

10 Midwest Plants for Instant Fall Color

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
June 01, 2012
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Yellow, orange, red and purple: Get gorgeous autumn foliage instantly with these color-drenched shrubs and perennials hand-picked for Midwest landscapes.
Start Slideshow

1 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Fast-growing fall color

Click through top picks of shrubs and perennials from Jeffrey L. Johnson, landscape gardener at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska.

Blueberry (Vaccinium species) bushes (pictured) are brilliant maroon or orange torches of color in the fall garden. Try super-hardy and productive 'Chippewa', which grows 3-4 feet tall. Full sun and well-drained, acidic soil are essential. Zones 3-7.

1 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Red: Little bluestem

Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), a grass native to Midwest prairies, takes on a warm red-orange or purple hue in fall. Clumps stand about 3 feet tall with a graceful, tufted habit. Grow in full sun and quick-draining soil. Zones 5-9. More information on little bluestem

2 of 9

3 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Orange: Fragrant sumac

Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) lights up in fall when its summer foliage turns blazing orange with a hint of red and purple. Grow this 3- to 5-foot-tall shrub in part shade or sun. Zones 4-9.

3 of 9

Advertisement

4 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Orange: Larch

Larch (Larix species), a conifer, sheds its warm orange-yellow needles as trees drop their leaves in fall. Dwarf selections such as L. deciduas 'Pendula' and L. kaempferi 'Nana' are perfect for a shrub border; other varieties can reach 100 feet tall. Zones 3-7.

4 of 9

5 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Purple: Smoke bush

Smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria) transforms its maroon summer foliage to a vibrant purple with the first chilly fall nights. Smokelike tufts of flowers top this 10- to 15-foot-tall shrub. Zones 4-8.

5 of 9

6 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Purple: Oakleaf hydrangea

Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) lights up the shade garden with its bronze-purple fall foliage. Plant the 3- to 6-foot-tall shrub in well-drained, moist soil. Zones 5-9.

6 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Yellow: Summersweet and Solomon's seal

Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), an ornamental, summer-flowering shrub, attracts butterflies and hummingbirds and boasts foliage that turns a clear golden yellow in the fall (pictured). It's an adaptable plant that can handle most conditions, from full sun to full shade. Grows up to 8 feet tall. Zones 3-9.

Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum), a perennial, offers arching stems of clear yellow fall foliage. It thrives in moist, well-drained soil and part shade or sun. Pretty white summer flowers are followed by black fruit. Most species grow 3-4 feet tall. Zones 3-9.

7 of 9

8 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Yellow: Fringe tree

Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus), shaped more like a shrub than a tree in its native Midwest, wears a cloak of yellow leaves in fall. Its name was inspired by slightly fragrant white flowers that droop in spring. Planted in moist, well-drained soil and full sun or part shade, it will grow to about 10 feet tall. Zones 5-9. More information on fringe tree

8 of 9

9 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Yellow-brown: Sideoats grama

Sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), a Midwest-native prairie grass, turns yellow-brown in autumn and is often tinged with red and purple. This tough grass will grow in sandy soil or heavy clay and full sun. Clumps reach about 2 feet tall. Zones 5-9 .More information on sideoats

9 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 9 Fast-growing fall color
2 of 9 Red: Little bluestem
3 of 9 Orange: Fragrant sumac
4 of 9 Orange: Larch
5 of 9 Purple: Smoke bush
6 of 9 Purple: Oakleaf hydrangea
7 of 9 Yellow: Summersweet and Solomon's seal
8 of 9 Yellow: Fringe tree
9 of 9 Yellow-brown: Sideoats grama

Share options

Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Login

Midwest Living

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • Contact Us
  • Help
  • Free Newsletters this link opens in a new tab
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
  • Renew this link opens in a new tab
  • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Affiliate Program
  • Free Travel Info this link opens in a new tab
  • Special Promotions this link opens in a new tab
  • Sweepstakes this link opens in a new tab
  • Video
  • Home Advisor this link opens in a new tab

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Midwest Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.midwestliving.com

View image

10 Midwest Plants for Instant Fall Color
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.