Fact sheet Colour from Broadleaved trees.

Colour from Broadleaved trees.

Trees with good colour.

Foliage colour remains one of the key important areas when selecting a new tree, flower colour is an added bonus and many trees offer foliage, flower and berry colour during the growing season.

Bark colour can also be important particularly from trees like silver birch and eucalyptus, which provide both foliage and stem colour particularly in autumn and winter.

One of the best silver birch has to be Betula jacquemontii with its beautiful large leaves that turn rich yellow in autumn and as the tree matures the bark peels to reveal a wonderful white colour.

Betula jacquemontii looks particularly well when planted in groups to create a woodland effect and one, which lends its self to under planting of spring flowering bulbs or ground covering plants for additional colour and interest..

All important foliage colour.

The large broad sycamore like leaves of Acer Crimson Sentry offers a deep purple colour throughout the spring, summer and autumn period. Acer crimson sentry is a wonderful compact tree with a full head of foliage. Great trees to contrast against brighter foliage , and offer extra foliage colour to brighten up the garden.

A wonderful tree to mix with crimson sentry is Acer Drummondii with its bright green and white foliage both trees mixed together will offer you a rich combination of extra colour for the garden.

Sorbus Aria Lutscens commonly called the White beam is both easy to grow and stunning in early summer. It produces beautiful silvery white foliage, white flowers in may and large red berries in winter. White beam is easy to grow, ideal for exposed gardens and will grow in all soil types. A great tree for exposed gardens.

Flower colour & berry.

Flowering trees have their place in every garden the beautiful spring flowering cherries are stunning in Mid April. Varieties like Prunus kanzan produce large double pink flowers which smother the entire tree, Prunus kanzan will make a large specimen tree more suited to the larger rural garden, the foliage turns a super scarlet colour in autumn and provides an extra splash of autumn colour.

For something different try Prunus Shirotae or Flat-Topped Cherry, which produces very large double white flowers along its horizontal branch structure.

The overall shape of this tree is particularly stunning and more suited to a smaller garden. Prunus Shirotae is suitable for planting as an avenue tree, that is , planted either side of a driveway or long pathway. The tree will spread across the driveway and produce a stunning display of white fragrant flowers over the driveway or walkway – truly a beautiful site in late April and early may.

Both the malus and sorbus family offer a wonderful range of hardy ornamental trees which provide both flower and ornamental berries in spring and autumn respectively.

Sorbus aria lutscens remains one of the most popular hardy broad-leaved trees ideal for our exposed west of Ireland conditions. Silver leaves are produced in April followed by white flowers in mid summer. Excellent choice for coastal or elevated sites.

The malus family contains some beautiful flowering and fruiting plants, in the apple family this range of trees are noted for their free flowering ability and the neat overall shape which makes them ideal for all gardens particularly small town gardens.

Look for Malus Roudolf produces beautiful foliage on strong stems which is covered in red flowers and followed by beautiful red ornamental cherry like fruit for autumn and winter colour. Hardy strong growing variety.

Another great flowering malus is Malus Red Glow as the name suggests the flowers are pink in colour and the red berries produced in autumn are a brilliant glowing red colour.

Malus trees are easy to grow, suit most gardens and offer you Foliage, flower and berry colour and interest from Spring to late winter.

Horkys tip: remember to add organic compost when planting and secure your trees with adequate stakes and ties when planting. All trees benefit with a dressing of shrub fertilizer in May & June.

Golden Rain Tree – Laburnum Vossii.

The golden rain tree is one of the most stunning early summer flowering garden trees, it is suitable for most gardens and is covered in foot long bright yellow flowers. The golden rain tree can be grown as a free standing tree or because of the flexable nature of its stems it can be trained as a wall plant or climber for archs or pergolas.

The golden rain tree orginates from France and germany and grows Naturally on slopes and mountain ranges. The cultivated variety is called “ Vossii “.

Plant the golden rain tree for a splash of warm yellow colour to brighten up any area of the garden. Mid april is the ideal time to plant this tree.

Magnolia Soulangiana – Beautiful rich pink flowers.

Beautiful tulip shaped deep pink flowers in bud opening to a soft shell pink in late spring makes Magnolia Soulangiana a beautiful tree in any garden. In flower now this beautiful plant will reward you with hundreds of tulip shaped flowers each year. Its easy to grow and forms a small to medium sized plant.

The colour of the flowers and the masses of blooms produced each year make this plant a winner.