Tips for adding plants that will bring a splash of fall color to your yard every year
The second week of October is a good week to appreciate fall color. Japanese maples are the trees that offer the most reliable fall color in our Western Washington climate and local nurseries are well stocked with this adaptable tree.
When it comes to shrubs, look for the brilliant red burning bush (Euonymus alatus “Compacta”) and any of the Nandinas or Heavenly Bamboo plants. Add a groundcover with bright red berries such as the spreading Cotoneaster and you’ll have an explosion of fall color every year.
Q. I have two Japanese maples that turn a beautiful red color each October. One stays low, like under 4 feet, and the other one has grown into a tree taller than our house. Can I prune back the tall tree so it can look more like the smaller Japanese Maple? Also, when can I prune it? — J.H., Tacoma
A. No, you cannot. First, Japanese maples are best pruned in late winter or early spring when they are dormant or leafless.
Second, the tall tree will not stay dwarf or compact no matter how much you prune it. The only reason the shorter maple grows out and not up is because it has been grafted onto a dwarf root stalk so it is unable to grow upward like its neighbor maple.
You can prune both of your maples (in February or March) but prune to thin out dead wood and crossing branches and to open up the shape of the tree. Follow a branch all the way back to a joint and then make the cut. Grafted Japanese maples can be pruned to showcase their trunks, but go slow and don’t remove any more than one third of the branches.
Q. My burning bush has been turning yellow starting in the summer and still does not have red leaves. I spent, like, $30 bucks on this shrub and I think it is dying. I planted it in organic compost and have a sprinkler system that kept the soil moist all summer. Please tell me it will survive. — D.B., Olympia
A. Um, it will survive — maybe. But only if you dig it up now and replant the struggling shrub onto a berm or raised bed with fast draining soil. The burning bush is a shrub that must have good drainage, full sun and soil allowed to dry out a bit.
My diagnosis based on the sprinkler system is you have drowned your shrub and the roots are rotting. Removing it from the damp soil and starting again is your only hope.
Q. I have ajuga growing as a groundcover in a shaded spot of my garden. It has done well, so now I want to transplant some of it to another location. Can I do this now or must I wait for spring? — P., Email
A. Dig in and pull up that ajuga and just about any other groundcover this week. As long as you get your new plants into the ground before it freezes, they should be fine with the transplant operation.
Remember do not fertilize in the fall even if you transplant or add a plant. You want plants to go dormant this time of year and feeding them can keep them awake.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of several books. Reach her at binettigarden.com.
