Unusual bark characteristics such as bright color, unusual texture, and sheen can draw the eye in a drab winter landscape
In Minnesota , where the leafless time of year can last almost six months , it ’s indispensable to consider wintertime pursuit when project a landscape . But even if you experience in a milder climate , where winter may be only a parky month or two , it ’s still worthwhile to select a few plants that will animate the winter view .
Unusual arm anatomical structure , coloured fruit , and persistent seed heads can all give a woody plant winter interest , but strange barque characteristics can be peculiarly eye - catch . Trees and shrub that have coloured , exfoliate , or shiny barque can make owing addition to the wintertime landscape . In spring , summer , and fall , the leafage or flowers of these plants are likely to be their most obtrusive feature article , but once the foliage dangle and the Baron Snow of Leicester starts to fall , their dramatic bark takes center stage .
Stem colors range from red to yellow to orange
The showiest plants for winter interest are those with bright red , yellow , or orange barque . Few plants have more colorful wintertime bark than red - stemmed cornel ( Cornus sericea ) , a declamatory bush grow to 6 to 8 feet improbable if unpruned , with a wide aboriginal scope in the United States and Canada . Stem color within the species varies from hopeful bolshie to dark burgundy - redness . Several cultivar , including ‘ carmine ’ and ‘ Baileyi ’ ( sometimes listed as a species rather than a cultivar ) are known for outstanding cherry stem color .
Yellow - stemmed dogwood cultivars can also supply a bright highlight to the winter landscape . ‘ Bud ’s yellow-bellied ’ Tatarian cornel ( Cornus alba‘Bud ’s Yellow ’ ) is one of the serious and seems to be more resistant to stanch cankers than ‘ Flaviramea ’ , the most commonly sold yellow - stem cultivar ofC. sericea .
If you glance under the leafage of any of these dogwood in summertime you might be surprised to see that the stems are immature . The stems formulate their brilliant color with the oncoming of cold weather , remain colored through the winter , then step by step devolve to green as temperatures warm in the outflow . All of the shrub dogwood are easy to grow in full sun or partial shade and wet to somewhat dry soils .
The brightest color appears on year - old base , so regular pruning is indispensable to keep these plant life colored . The key is to rationalise out old stems in bounce to boost new stems to grow from the base . Overgrown shrub dogwoods can be renewed by lop all stems down to within a few inch of the base .
Coral - bark willow ( Salix alba‘Britzensis ’ ) rivals even the burnished red - caulescent dogwood for wintertime color . With its golden stems and red - orange twigs , this willow tree can grow into a fairly large tree . It ’s adept to cut the plant intimately to the land each year in other spring , producing a medium - size of it shrub composed entirely of colorful unseasoned staunch that will beam in the winter landscape . Like most willows , this selection prefer full sun and moist grime .
Peeling curls of bark reveal an array of colors
While their colors are more pernicious , several trees with exfoliating bark are also terrific additions to the winter landscape . I retrieve of exfoliate bark in two family : bark that peels and lock in papery sheet and bark that show patches or flakes of unlike colors .
Of the trees with strip down curls of barque , perhaps the most lusted after is paperbark maple ( Acer griseum ) . This low , slow - growing tree has attractive dark - green trifoliated leave , but it ’s the barque that makes it exceptional . inscrutable cinnamon bark - brown to mahogany from torso to branch tips , the bark exfoliate in adorable papery curls . Paperbark maple makes an splendid specimen tree and will grow best in full sun to partial shade and moist but well - drained soil ; it should be plant where you’re able to admire it often .
Several birch species are also noted for their attractive bark , but river birch ( Betula nigra ) gain ground the award for teemingness of papery curls . As the barque peels in bushy masses , many colors are exposed , from ivory to tan , ash brown , cinnamon , and even rust-brown garden pink . see for the selection Heritage ® for consistently attractive barque and honorable foliage . River birch performs well in Dominicus to partial shade but needs evenly moist soil and may become greensick in alkaline soils .
Plants with patchy exfoliating barque give an intriguing fretsaw - puzzlelike pattern in the wintertime landscape painting ; a favorite of mine is lacebark true pine ( Pinus bungeana ) . This average - size pine often arise with multiple trunks , which allows a good view of the wonderful brown , olive greenness , and milky - gray barque piece . The common crape Vinca minor ( Lagerstroemia indica ) , a multitrunked small Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , also has wonderfully mottled exfoliating barque . Some of the crape myrtle hybrid ( Lagerstroemia indica × L. fauriei ) introduced by the National Arboretum are peculiarly noted for multicolored bark in spook of tan , gray , and reddish brownness . Both the lacebark pine and the common French pancake myrtle opt full sun and well - drained soil .
Outstanding plants for winter bark interest
colour
Acer palmatum‘Sango Kaku ’ ( coral - bark Japanese maple)Height / width : 20/15Zones : 5–7Winter feature : Bright coral - red branchlet in wintertime
Cornus alba(Tatarian dogwood)Height / width : 8/6Zones : 3–7Winter feature : Variably red halt
Cornus alba‘Alleman ’s Compact’Height / width : 5/5Zones : 3–7Winter feature : Red stem
Cornus alba‘Bud ’s Yellow’Height / width : 7/7Zones : 3–7vBright - yellow fore
Cornus albaIvory Halo ® Height / width : 6/6Zones : 3–7Winter feature of speech : sorry - red root word , variegated foliage
Cornus alba‘Sibirica’Height / width : 7/7Zones : 3–7Winter feature : Vibrant crimson theme
Cornus sanguinea‘Winter Flame ’ ( ‘ Winter Flame ’ bloodtwig dogwood)Height / width : 8/8Zones : 5–7Winter feature : Stems change from yellow to red
Cornus sericea(red - stemmed dogwood)Height / width : 8/8Zones : 3–7Winter feature : Stems in shadiness of cherry-red
Cornus sericea‘Baileyi’Height / width : 8/8Zones : 3–7Winter feature of speech : Deep - redness to Burgundy wine stems
Cornus sericea‘Cardinal’Height / width : 8/8Zones : 3–7Winter characteristic : Bright cherry - red stems
Cornus sericea‘Flaviramea’Height / width : 8/8Zones : 3–7Winter lineament : Yellow stanch
Cornus sericea‘Ruby’Height / width : 8/8Zones : 3–7Winter feature of speech : deep ruby-red - red stems
Cornus sericea‘Silver and Gold’Height / width : 8/8Zones : 3–7Winter feature : chickenhearted stems , variegated foliage
Cornus sericea‘White Gold’Height / width : 8/8Zones : 3–7Winter feature : Golden stem , variegated
Pack a visual punch in the dreary winter landscape with red-stemmedCornus sericea‘Cardinal’. These brightly colored stems are especially striking against a snowy background.
Kerria japonica(Japanese kerria)Height / width : 4/6Zones : 5–9Winter feature : Bright - green wintertime staunch
Kerria japonica‘Kin Kan’Height / width : 4/6Zones : 5–9Winter feature : yellowish stems with gullible stripes
Rosa glauca(redleaf rose)Height / width : 8/6Zones : 2–8Winter feature of speech : Unusual waxy purplish stems
Create eye-catching winter interest with the shaggy masses of bark ofBetula nigra. The multicolored papery curls put on a consistently attractive display.
Salix alba‘Britzensis ’ ( coral - barque willow)Height / width : 30/20Zones : 2–8Winter feature article : Golden stem , red-faced - orange twigs
Salix‘Golden Curls ’ ( golden - curls willow)Height / width : 30/20Zones : 4–8Winter feature : Curly golden stems
Salix‘Scarlet Curls ’ ( carmine - curls willow)Height / width : 20/15Zones : 5–8Winter feature : Curly reddish stems
Create eye-catching winter interest with the shaggy masses of bark ofBetula nigra. The multicolored papery curls put on a consistently attractive display.
Texture
Acer griseum(paperbark maple)Height / width : 25/20Zones : 5–7Winter characteristic : Peeling cinnamon - colored barque
Acer triflorum(three - blossom maple)Height / width : 25/20Zones : 4–7Winter feature : Peeling gold - to - tan barque
Acer griseumsteals the show as an ideal specimen tree, with its extravagant, richly colored, peeling bark.Photo: Nancy Rose
Betula nigra(river birch)Height / width : 50/40Zones : 4–9Winter have : Curly bark in tan , brown , coral
Lagerstroemiacvs . ( crape myrtles)Height / width : 20/15Zones : 7–9Winter feature of speech : Multicolored bark patches
Pinus bungeana(lacebark pine)Height / width : 30/25Zones : 5–7Winter feature : Jigsaw - puzzlelike bark patches
The rich sheen ofPrunus serrulaoften resembles burnished bronze or copper. Its polished bark also develops into peeling curls as it ages.Photo: Michael Dirr
Stewartia pseudocamellia(Japanese stewartia)Height / width : 25/15Zones : 5–7Winter lineament : Bark in multicolored patches
lustre
Betula alleghaniensis(yellow birch)Height / width : 50/30Zones : 3–7Winter feature : Yellow - browned bark on stalk
The beautiful glossy bark ofPrunus maackiireflects a warm glow on the coldest days. Plant it where it can be enjoyed from inside the house on a brisk winter day.
Betula lenta(sweet birch)Height / width : 50/40Zones : 3–7Winter feature : Reddish - brown bark on fore
Prunus maackii(Amur chokecherry)Height / width : 20/15Zones : 3–6Winter feature : Amber to copper bark
Prunus serrula(paperbark cherry)Height / width : 20/15Zones : 5–7Winter characteristic : Cinnamon - color barque
Sorbus aucuparia‘Beissneri ’ ( ‘ Beissneri ’ European deal ash)Height / width : 30/15Zones : 3–6Winter feature of speech : quiet copper - discolor bark
Syringa pekinensisChina Snow ® (China snowfall ® Peking lilac)Height / width : 20/15Zones : 4–7Winter feature : Shiny brown papery bark
Some shiny bark mimics bronze and copper
Tree that have especially glistening bark also cater ocular interest during the winter month . Shiny bark can have such a rich sheen that the trees ’ trunks look like softly burnished bronze or copper . This lustrous bark excogitate the low - angled rays of wintertime sunshine , providing a fond glow on the coldest days .
I engraft an Amur Prunus virginiana ( Prunus maackii ) in my front yard , clearly seeable through my life room windows . I look up to its lovely barque for months in the winter , though after a particularly retentive winter I ’m plenty ready to see its leafage come along . Amur chokecherry is a hardy small tree with incredibly beautiful barque ramble in colour from lucky amber to copper to rich cinnamon brown . The barque hold this lovely color and colour , even on the master trunk , for most of the tree diagram ’s life history .
Another small Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree with wondrous burnished barque is paperbark cherry tree ( Prunus serrula ) . Its bark is an unbelievable glossy rich reddish brown , developing flake off ringlet with geezerhood . Paperbark cherry has a fairly limited growing stove , but it ’s well deserving essay out if your garden is in that range .
Both the Amur chokecherry and the paperbark cherry have the cultural demand and limitations distinctive of the genusPrunus . They do best in sun to fond specter , want fantabulous filth drain , and are likely to die promptly if planted in a marshy web site . Borers can be a serious problem , although trees maintained in good wellness are less prostrate to damage from these cuss . Girdling roots is a middling common trouble for Amur chokecherries ; the best defense is to unravel crossing root cautiously when planting , and ensure the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is not engraft too bass .
These selections are just a sampling of those that can put up wintertime interest . Take a good face at your landscape through the winter month and observe where you could apply a splash of redness , the textural speech pattern of peeling barque , or a coppery lustre . As a lover of industrial plant , I ’d have to say that wintertime is not my favorite season , but living in Minnesota has made me appreciate those plant that are beautiful even when they ’re deep in winter dormancy .
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