Beautiful fall color is all around us in Fayette County. In addition to maples and oaks, below are a few plantings showing brilliant colors of red, yellow, and orange around our office. If you would like to see these colors in your yard, give us a call and we can give you information regarding planting and care of these plants and many more in Georgia.
Crape Myrtle., Administrative Complex. Photo: K. ToalMuscadine vine, Education Garden. Photo: K. ToalCrape Myrtle provides season long interest with abundant summer color, bright fall foliage colors, and smooth bark. Muscadines can be grown successfully in most parts of the state and are ideal for backyard gardens since they have minimal pest issues.Oakleaf Hydrangea, Education Garden. Photo: K.ToalBottlebrush Buckeye, Education Garden. Photo: K.ToalOakleaf Hydrangea is a deciduous, shade loving native shrub with oak-shaped leaves, large cones of white flowers in the summer, and beautiful fall foliage. Bottlebrush buckeye is a deciduous, native shrub that can be used in woodland gardens, as a specimen plant, or as a shrub border. This shrub will get quite large, so it should be planted where it has space to grow.Dogwood, Administrative Complex. Photo: K.ToalCosmos, Education Garden. Photo: K. ToalDogwood is one of the most widely planted ornamental tree in Georgia. It is native to the eastern United States and will grow well if the proper site is selected and healthy trees are purchased and planted correctly. Cosmos is an easy to grow annual that can reseed itself regularly and provide blooms from summer to frost.Ginkgo Tree, Administrative Complex. Photo: K. ToalEastern Redbud, Education Garden. Photo: K.ToalGinkgo trees have beautiful emerald fan-shaped leaves that turn a brilliant yellow in the fall. Trees around the Administrative Complex are just starting to turn yellow. Be sure to purchase male cultivars instead of seed-propagated trees. The fruit from female trees have an unpleasant smell when they fall from the tree and begin to decompose in the fall. Eastern Redbud might be mostly recognizable for its heart shaped leaves and pink flowers in early spring, but it can also have good fall foliage. Although variable, trees can provide a beautiful yellow fall color.
Kim Toal, is the Fayette County Extension Coordinator and Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources. For more information on gardening in Fayette County, contact Fayette County Extension at 770-305-5412 or online at www.ugaextension.org/fayette.