Fall Color in California
Flowers by color:
Blue Flowers Pink Flowers Purple Flowers Orange Flowers Red Flowers Salmon Flowers Yellow Flowers White Flowers
Fall Color in California, emphatically yes! There are plants that turn in the Fall. It has been a regular complaint that we do not actually have seasons here in California. While I agree that they are not as sharply demarcated at the coast as those of some other regions, we can still get a spectacular fall display if you look in the right places or plant the right plants. And we can enjoy it while we are wearing shorts and tee shirts flipping burgers on the BBQ. The Eastern Sierras can sate any need for color.
One often thinks of trees when the subject of Fall Color is mentioned. We list our favorites below. There are a number of shrubs with great foliage and berries. And one should not forget that the rosehips can be spectacular if they are left on the bush. In addition to feeding the birds this helps the roses go dormant They do much better with their winter's rest.
While we don't get much snow here (like none in my garden) picking up leaves can be made much easier by using a lightweight snow shovel. I use it as if it were a giant dust pan with a long handle. Then I sweep or rake the debris into the shovel for a quick cleanup. When there are massive amounts of leaves I use the snow shovel and a rake as large extensions of my arms and clamp the leaves while lifting them into the waste can. Many of the deciduous fruit trees have great color. My apples and apricots look great with a carpet of fallen yellow leaves.
Fall Color List
Acer buergerianum * Trident Maple
Acer macrophyllum * Bigleaf Maple
Acer negundo californicum * California Box Elder, Boxelder
Acer saccharinum * Silver Maple
Apple - Anna Apple
Apricot - Blenheim Royal Apricot
Bergenia Bressingham Ruby
Catalpa speciosa * Northern Catalpa
Ceratostigma willmottianum * Chinese Plumbago
Cercis canadensis Forest Pansy * Eastern Redbud
Cercis occidentalis * Western Redbud
Cotinus coggygria * Smoke Tree
Crocosmia lucifer
Cornus nuttallii * Mountain Dogwood
Cornus sericea * Red Osier Dogwood
Diosporos virginiana * American Persimmon
Fraxinus dipetala * California Ash
Gingko biloba * Maidenhair Tree
Hakenechloa aureola * Golden Japanese Forest Grass
Heteromeles arbutifolia * Toyon
Hydrangea quercifolia * Oak Leaf Hydgrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia Alison * Alison Oak Leaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia Sikes Dwarf * Sikes Dwarf Oak Leaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea serrata * Lace Hydrangea, Mountain Hydrangea
Juglans californica * California Walnut
Koelreuteria paniculata * Golden Rain Tree
Lagerstroemia Crimson Red * Crimson Red Crape Myrtle
Lagerstroemia Natchez * Natchez Crape Myrtle
Liquidamber styraciflua 'Burgandy' * American Gum
Lonicera involucrata * Twinberry
Parthenocissus tricuspidata * Boston Ivy, Japanese Creeper
Peach May Pride
Pistacia chinensis * Chinese Pistache
Platanus racemosa * California Sycamore, Western Sycamore
Populus fremontii * Fremont Cottonwood
Ptelea crenulata * California Hoptree
Pteridium aquilinum * Bracken Fern
Punicia granatum * Pomegranate 'Wonderful'
Punica granatum legrelliae * Flowering Pomegranate
Pyrus 'asian pear' var. '20th Century' * 20th Century Asian Pear
Pyrus calleryana * Bradford Pear
Quercus douglasii * Blue Oak
Qeurcus garryana * Oregon Oak
Quercus kelloggii * California Black Oak
Quercus lobata * Valley Oak
Quercus muehlenbergii * Chinkapin Oak
Ribes aureum * Golden Currant
Robinia pseudoacacia Purple Robe * Purple Robe Black Locust
Rose Hips
Salix lasiolepis * Arroyo Willow
Syringia California Rose * California Rose Lilac
Syringia Excel * Excel Lilac
Vitis californica * California Wild Grape
Woodwardia unigemmata * Chinese Chain Fern
Ziziphus jujuba * Chinese Jujube, Chinese Date