Perfect Perennial Pairings for Fall Color with Trees and Shrubs
Posted by Annie Algren on Aug 20th 2025
Perfect Perennial Pairings for Fall Color with Trees & Shrubs
Fall is the perfect time to showcase trees and shrubs that offer captivating color. While most of these plants bloom in the spring, their brilliant fall colors offer multi-season interest and extend their beauty well into the cooler months. These three perfect perennial pairings are sure to add a lasting impact on your landscape and extend the season of color in your garden.
Smoketree (Smokebush)
Light
Full to Part-Sun (4-6+ hrs)
Attributes
Multi-stemmed ornamental trees or shrubs with billows of smoke-like purple hairs. Autumn color is highly variable and showy.
Growth Habit
Upright, mounded
Soil Type
Well-draining
Bloom Color
Reds, pinks
Size
10-15’ H x 10-15’ W
Bloom Time
Autumn
Use
Great for multi-season interest in woodland gardens, foundation plantings, mixed shrub borders, and informal hedges
Maintenance
Prune after flowering if desired
Benefits
Enhances biodiversity by attracting pollinators and birds, and serves as a wildlife-friendly plant that can also provide shelter.
Dogwood (Cornus spp.)
Light
Full to Part-Sun (4-6+ hrs)
Attributes
A North American native deciduous shrub often with red or yellow stems that intensify in color in the fall, and fragrant white spring flowers followed by berries that are beloved by wildlife
Growth Habit
Upright, rounded, some forms slowly spreading
Soil Type
Loam
Bloom Color
White
Size
3-6’ H x 3-6’ W
Bloom Time
Late Spring to Early Summer
Use
Beautiful in foundation plantings, pollinator gardens, woodland gardens, rain gardens, pond and stream margins, or massed as a hedge.
Maintenance
Regular pruning every 2-3 years in early spring
Benefits
Tolerates wet and black walnut, resistant to deer and rabbit, provides four-season interest, attracts pollinators, winter food source for wildlife, low maintenance
Ninebark
Light
Full to Part Sun (4-6+ hrs)
Attributes
prized for their distinctive exfoliating bark, which provides significant winter interest with its peeling layers of cinnamon and cream.
Growth Habit
Rounded, upright form. A dense, free-branching shape
Soil Type
slightly acidic to neutral soil
Bloom Color
White
Size
3-10’ H x 4-6’ W
Bloom Time
Late Spring to Early Summer
Use
Perfect in woodland gardens, or used as a specimen tree and statement shrub
Maintenance
Prune in late winter or early spring to maintain shape and condition
Benefits
Offers nectar for pollinators, food and shelter for wildlife, and contributes to erosion control.
Always approachable and happy to help!