HOME GARDENS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 36, 9 April 1948, Page 6

HOME GARDENS

(By J. W. Goodwin, N.D.H. (N.Z.), Massey Agricultural College)

BRILLIANT AUTUMN FOLIAGE When discussing autumn-flowering subjects recently, mention was made of several which also have attractive autumn foliage. To these we will add a few more from a large number of colourful specimens. The change in the colour of leaves from green to the various tints of red, yellow, purple and brown is due to changes in their composition. This is brought about mainly by sunlight and cooler temperatures. There are many* external factors which influence the brilliance and duration of the display. The plants themselves, coming as they do from a wide ratige of climatic ' conditions, react differently to the seosons. The most successful seasons are those in which the plant makes good growth during the early part, followed by a hot summer and a mild autumn.

It is important, then, to select plants suited to the soil in which they are to be grown. For the deep moisture-retentive soils we have some fine large trees in Liriodendron tulipifera (the “Tuli# tree”), which bears large cup-shaped flowers, cream-coloured with a bright orange throat in early summer. Liquidambar styraciflua (Liquidambar) and Quercus coccinea (scarlet oak) are better known and rather smaller, though they will ultimately make large trees. Neither bears showy flowers but their foliage and growth habit commend them. It is rather difficult to name any one tree as being the best, but if I were forced to name my choice for autumn foliage it would be Nyssa sylvatica (the “Tupelo”), which is native to swamp lands of Eastern North America. Unfortunately, this plant is practically unobtainable at the present time. It does well in a loamy soil and colours scarlet and yellow. Pistacia chinensis may be considered equal to the “Tupelo”, but it also, unfortunately, is scarce. Ginkgo biloba (the “maidenhair tree”) turns a beautiful golden-yel-low. The leaves resemble the leaflets of the maidenhair fern and there’s character in every branch. Strange as it may seem, it is allied to the fir trees. It is the only living member' of a family represented in fossil remains reaching back 150 million years.

The maples are well known for the fine foliage of Acer palmatum (“the Japanese maple”) A. griseum is probably the best of the larger maples that we have here. The trifoliate leaves are not large, but they almost invariably colour well and last longer than most. Small Shrubs For Good Soils Of the smaller' subjects for good soils, I would commend Disanthus cercidifolius, Bft to 10ft with roundish foliage like the Judas tree (Cercis) and Enkianthus, 4ft to Bft. There are several species, all with good autumn foliage and attractive flowers in the spring. Vaccinium corymbosum, 4ft to 6ft, is somewhat similar in flower, but distinct in leaf and form. Most notable of all are the Azaleas, which flower before the leaves show in the spring and colour brilliantly in the autumn. Climbing plants which contribute to the autumn, foliage effects are the Virginian creepers. Of autumn-foliage plants which do well in lighter and drier soils, Gleditchia triacanthos makes a large tree, the branches of . which are spiny and the foliage is pinnate, that is, the leaf comprises a central axis with numerous leaflets on either side. The foliage and form are handsome and the autumn colouring is good. A genus which contributes a number of excellent subjects to this section is the Rhus or Sumach. Unfortunately, some of them are poisonous, particularly if handled with perspiring hands. Most autumn foliage plants prefer sunny positions, but should be sheltered from damaging winds if they are to show their true colours before the wind disperses the leaves.