A number of desert plants do change color in the autumn. Photo by J. A. Soule
Many in our area have moved to the Southwest from “back East” and become nostalgic as the days shorten into autumn – they miss the colorful fall foliage. Fear not! You can enjoy brilliant fall foliage in your own landscape with judicious planting of these Southwest native plants!
Mexican buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa) is lovely year round. It blooms in spring before the leaves come out. The bare wood is festooned with masses of pink, delightfully fragrant flowers. Leathery green leaves contribute dense shade in summer, and turn golden in fall. The round tan pods split open as they dry, revealing an inner pink hue. Pods decorate the branches for months and can be harvested for crafts. With a mature height of 15 to 20 feet, Mexican buckeye can take full, even reflected sun, or part shade, thus you can plant one almost anywhere in your yard.
Mexican buckeye looks lovely in spring as well as fall, decorated with fragrant pink flowers before the foliage fully emerges. Photo by J. A. Soule
Western soapberry (Sapinus saponeria) is either a shrub or small tree in the home landscape, reaching around fifteen feet tall. In riparian habitats it can reach thirty feet. Attractive foliage turns brilliant yellow in fall. Round, translucent berries contain saponins, a soap-like substance, and are used to make an insecticidal spray. Western soapberry can be grown in full sun to part shade, and can be planted as an understory shrub. Despite being found in riparian habitats, soapberry is quite drought resistant. Once established, it needs a good soak of the root zone only once a month in summer.
A west facing wall is protected from searing summer sun by deciduous trees – then the leaves drop and let the sun shine on the wall and help warm the house in the winter. Photo by J. A. Soule
If I redid that landscape now, I would add some winter greenery and color, like this Baja fairy duster, in bloom in January. Photo by J. A. Soule
Native cotton (Gossipium thurberi) is fun to grow. My plants reached 15 feet although the books call it a “short shrub.” The leaves are hand-shaped with five to seven “fingers” that are bright green in summer. Delicate creamy yellow flowers cover the bush at the height of monsoon season, but fall is the time this shrub shines in the landscape. Depending on the temperatures the foliage turns golden, orange, scarlet, or even maroon.
Fall is a great time to plant this native cotton. It can become established before the summer returns – plus you will get to select the brightest fall colors! Photo by J. A. Soule.
For a shorter shrub with leaves that turn scarlet and copper – lemonade berry (Rhus trilobata). Also called squawbush, the berries are not edible (don’t swallow them) but you can suck on them for a burst of tartness. Lance-leaf sumac (Rhus lancia) is used in a similar fashion. Both species are related to poison ivy (Rhus toxicodendron) so consume in moderation.
The fruit of the lance leaf sumac is borne in clusters that make harvesting and drying for future use in iced tea very easy. This species grows in the Southwest uplands. Photo by J. A. Soule
There are a number of southwest native plants that are not xeriscape plants that also provide autumn color. From riparian and mountain areas of the Southwest, there are a number of trees such as honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), canyon hackberry (Celtis reticulata), Arizona ash (Fraxinus wrightii), Arizona walnut (Juglans major), native willow (Salix ssp.), Arizona cottonwood (Populus fremontii), and the giant Arizona sycamore (Platanus racemosa var. wrightii).
Canyon hackberry turns golden in autumn and is beloved by birds for it’s dense summer foliage. Photo by J. A. Soule
For a vine, consider the Virgina creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia). Native to our area (despite the common name) this lovely vine also provides autumn color. Planted on the shady side of the house it will survive the summer.
Virginia creeper is found in the SW mountains, and can be grown in the desert with careful placement. Photo by J. A. Soule
Nurseries have been selecting Virginia creeper for drought tolerance and autumn color. This cultivar, ‘Hacienda Creeper’ has striking autumn foliage. Photo by J. A. Soule
All this autumn foliage does bring with it an autumn chore – raking up the fallen leaves. Good exercise, plus the leaves are wonderful for the compost pile!
Don’t forget – fall foliage is followed by fall raking fun. Photo by J. A. Soule
#####
© 2014, Jacqueline Soule. All rights reserved. This article is the property of Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens. We have received many requests to reprint our work. Our policy is that you are free to use a short excerpt which must give proper credit to the author, and must include a link back to the original post on our site. Please use the contact form above if you have any questions.