35 Beautiful Fall Foliage Plants

Ralph Astley is a retired gardener from Philadelphia who specializes in outdoor plants and trees. With years of hands-on experience, Ralph not only cares for a diverse range of outdoor flora but also shares his extensive knowledge through well-written articles and social media posts. A trusted authority in arboriculture, he's committed to helping the community grow healthier, more robust gardens.
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Check out some stunning Fall Foliage Plants that will add a spectacular color show in your garden for autumn! Grow these show stoppers today!

Plants and small trees take a wonderful shade of colors in fall, transforming the look of a garden completely. Grow these Fall Foliage Plants this year to make your home full of colors in the next fall!


Beautiful Fall Foliage Plants

1. Autumn Fern

Fall Foliage Plants
flickr

Botanical Name: Dryopteris erythrosora

USDA Zones: 5-8

Commonly known as the Japanese shield fern, it grows 2-4 feet tall and wide. New fronds open in stunning colors of orange-red to copper pink before turning glossy deep green in summer.

Have a look at the best types of ferns here

2. Dwarf Fothergilla

shutterstock/Todd Boland

Botanical Name: Fothergilla gardenii

USDA Zones: 5-8

This shrub shows off a pattern of fall hues in purple, red, and orange. It thrives in partial shade to the full sun, which is the reason for the pretty fall color.

3. Barrenwort

Fall Foliage Plants 2

Botanical Name: Epimedium × versicolor ‘Sulphureum’

USDA Zones: 5-8

Barrenwort is also known as bishop’s hat. It produces heart-shaped, oval leaflets in red hues during spring and bronze in fall and winter.

4. Staghorn Sumac

Botanical Name: Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’

USDA Zones: 4-8

Its fall foliage flashes in gorgeous orange and red hues with fuzzy red clusters. ‘Bailtiger’ is a gold-leaf variety and grows up to 5-8 feet tall and wide.

5. Bloody Geranium

Fall Foliage Plants 3
garden

Botanical Name: Geranium sanguineum

USDA Zones: 3-8

This perennial flowers occasionally from late spring to late summer. The blossoms rise on an ornamental mound of palmately lobed foliage that becomes blood-red in fall.

6. Oakleaf Hydrangea

Botanical Name: Hydrangea quercifolia

USDA Zones: 5-9

This upright and deciduous shrub grows up to 6-8 feet tall and wide. The oak-like dark green foliage turns red or purple in late fall.

7. Boston Ivy

Fall Foliage Plants 4
shutterstock/chatnara

Botanical Name: Parthenocissus tricuspidata

USDA Zones: 4-8

Boston Ivy is a deciduous, fast-growing vine with leaves that turn scarlet red to purple in fall under sunny locations. It is one of the Best Fall Foliage Plants you can grow!

8. Bluestar

Botanical Name: Amsonia hubrichtii

USDA Zones: 4-9

Also known as Arkansas blue star, this tough perennial opens in starry blue blossoms in late spring to early summer. When fall arrives, its green leaves turn gold.

9. Virginia Sweetspire

Fall Foliage Plants 5

Botanical Name: Itea virginica

USDA Zones: 5-9

Also known as Virginia willow, this mound-shaped shrub produces oval and deep green foliage in hues of orange, red, and gold in fall.

10. Shenandoah Switch Grass

landscapedesign

Botanical Name: Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’

USDA Zones: 4-9

The upright foliage of this deciduous perennial takes a stunning hue of red in fall. It looks best in the garden with other fall plants!

11. Chinese Fountain Grass

Fall Foliage Plants 6

Botanical Name: Pennisetum alopecuroides

USDA Zones: 5-9

The plant showcases a soft textured appearance. Its bottlebrush-like, soft seed heads bring a golden yellow texture to fall gardens.

12. Blue Fescue

robverlindenofficial

Botanical Name: Festuca glauca

USDA Zones: 4-8

Add a hint of steel blue to planting beds all year long with this plant! During fall, the blue foliage gives a textural contrast.

13. Apache Rose Switch Grass

Fall Foliage Plants 7

Botanical Name: Panicum virgatum ‘Apache Rose’

USDA Zones: 4-9

This prairie grass offers small, rose-tinted flower spikes that bring a distinct shade to a garden. Pair it with other fall foliage plants for the best display!

14. Russian Sage

Botanical Name: Perovskia atriplicifolia

USDA Zones: 4-9

Russian sage displays beautiful gray-green leaves and purple blooms in late summer and fall and white-silver fragrant stems during winter.

15. Feather Reed Grass

Fall Foliage Plants 8
shutterstock/Kathryn Roach

Botanical Name: Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’

USDA Zones: 5-9

This majestic ornamental grass adds a rich tone of colors to a fall garden! You can grow it in containers. For best color, expose it to bright light.

16. Hosta

Botanical Name: Hosta

USDA Zones: 3-9

Fall or no fall, if you have a Hosta in your garden, rest assured you will enjoy a burst of colors all year round. They come in a lot of colorful varieties that you can choose from!

17. Red Wiggle Sedum

Fall Foliage Plants 9

Botanical Name: Sedum ochroleucum ‘Red Wiggle’

USDA Zones: 4-8

This plant has spruce-like foliage that stays red-green in summer. However, it turns into a shade of bright red in fall, which looks fantastic in gardens.

18. Helveticum

davesgarden

Botanical Name: Sempervivum helveticum

USDA Zones: 5-9

The ground-hugging rosettes of this plant remain bright green most of the time of the year, but in fall, it takes an eye-catching shade of dark burgundy.

19. Blue Paradise

Fall Foliage Plants 10
provenwinners

Botanical Name: Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Blue Paradise’

USDA Zones: 5-9

The fine and slender blades of this grass remain blue-green in summer. Come fall, and they transform into a stunning shade of burgundy-red!

20. Arnold Promise Witch Hazel

pinterest

Botanical Name: Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’

USDA Zones: 5-8

Arnold Promise Witch Hazel is a vase-shaped cultivar that grows upright with a spreading habit and ascending branches. Usually, it is most popular for its sweetly fragrant flowers.

21. Gold Mound Spirea

Fall Foliage Plants 11

Botanical Name: Spiraea japonica

USDA Zones: 4-8

Gold Mound Spirea is most valued for its leaves in spring that turn into shades of vibrant yellow in fall. This deciduous shrub also showcases clusters of flowers, too!

22. Viburnum

shutterstock/Irina999petrova

Botanical Name: Viburnum

USDA Zones: 4-8

Viburnum belongs to a group of huge-flowering shrubs with over 150 varieties. The plant grows pink or white flowers in early spring.

23. Virginia Creeper

Fall Foliage Plants 12
shutterstock/Gardens by Design

Botanical Name: Parthenocissus quinquefolia

USDA Zones: 4-9

Virginia Creeper looks stunning in any landscape and can thrive well in almost any light and soil conditions. It is one of the Fall Foliage Plants you can grow!

24. Heuchera

Botanical Name: Heuchera

USDA Zones: 4-9

The most beautiful attraction of Heuchera is its foliage, and most types come in burgundy or deep purple shades. You can even find some varieties in lime green to red color, too.

25. Burning Bush

Fall Foliage Plants 13

Botanical Name: Euonymus alatus

USDA Zones: 4-8

If you are looking for a splash of crimson color during fall,  then grow this plant! It is most famous for its bold-colored foliage.

26. Aronia

Botanical Name: Aronia

USDA Zones: 3-9

Aronia berry plant bears flowers in white color in mid-spring, but the beautiful berries only appear in the fall.

27. Ornamental Peppers

Fall Foliage Plants 14

Botanical Name: Capsicum annuum

USDA Zones: 9-11

Ornamental Pepper is an easy-to-care-for plant and can make any space look stunning with its shiny, green foliage and very colorful peppers!

28. Dusty Miller

Botanical Name: Jacobaea maritima

USDA Zones: 8-10

The plant is mostly grown for its foliage in shades of silver-gray. Its lacy leaves look attractive and contrast well with other flowers in the garden.

29. Red Twig Dogwood

Fall Foliage Plants 15

Botanical Name: Cornus sericea

USDA Zones: 3-8

Red Twig Dogwood is another great fall foliage plant to grow. It showcases green-colored stems in summer and turns bright red in fall.

31. October Glory Red Maple

Botanical Name: Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’

USDA Zones: 4-9

This rapid-growing red maple cultivar is most loved for its beautiful shiny green leaves that turn into vibrant red in fall.

32. Autumn Gold

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Botanical Name: Ginkgo biloba ‘Autumn Gold’

USDA Zones: 4-9

This plant comes alive during the fall months when the leaves become a shade of bright yellow!

33. Spanish Bluebell

Botanical Name: Hyacinthoides hispanica

USDA Zones: 3-8

Spanish Bluebell has dangling spikes that lend charm to garden borders or beds. It flowers in shades of blue and lavender.

34. Persimmon Tree

Fall Foliage Plants 17
flickr

Botanical Name: Diospyros kaki

USDA Zones: 4-9

The leaves of this deciduous tree turn pink, yellow, purple, or red in the fall, which makes it look mesmerizing.

35. Croton

Botanical Name: Croton

USDA Zones: 8-11

This plant stays colorful no matter what the season is! If you want a sheer contrast of hues in your garden, then this is the one to grow!

Wanna try crazy ideas to landscape your yard? Have a look here!

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