Trees for Multi-Season Color
Your garden palette will change with the seasons when you plant trees that offer attractive foliage, fruits, bark and flowers throughout the year.

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Photo By: Caitlin Atkinson
Photo By: Courtesy of Wayside Gardens
Photo By: Courtesy of Wayside Gardens
Photo By: Courtesy of Wayside Gardens
Photo By: Courtesy of Wayside Gardens
Photo By: ©iStockphoto.com/David Sucsy
Photo By: Johnsen Landscapes & Pools
Photo By: BaileyNurseries.com
Seasonal Trees
When choosing plants for your landscape, it's nice to pick a few that truly shine in one season or another. But for the backbone plants like trees, it's even better to choose hardworking selections that offer interest throughout the year. Trees like redbuds (shown here) give you more bounty for your buck.
'Ruby Falls' Redbud
Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls' is a dwarf, weeping redbud tree with lavender flowers in spring. In summer, the foliage becomes dark green with washes of red and violet, especially where the weather is cool. The red stems are attractive even when the leaves drop. A bonus: Redbud flowers are edible.
'Moonrise' Full Moon Japanese Maple
'Evening Light' Japanese Snowbell
Smoke Tree
Acer palmatum 'Ukigumo'
Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)
Sargent's Cherry Tree (Prunus sargentii)
Sargent's cherry trees (Prunus sargentii) bear deep pink blooms in spring, followed by dark green leaves. As summer ends, the foliage takes on shades of orange, red and bronze. Sargent's cherry trees hold their interest even in winter, thanks to their cinnamon-colored bark and dark fruits, which often attract hungry birds.
River birch (Betula nigra)
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
'Prairifire' Crabapple (Malus 'Prairifire')
Sweetgum Tree (Liquidambar styraciflua)
The American Sweetgum bursts into a kaleidoscope of color in autumn, when its leaves range from red to burgundy, purple and yellow. During the spring and summer, the star-shaped leaves are a glossy green.