19 Shrubs With Fabulous Fall Color

As the days get shorter and winter gets closer, many trees do something incredible. You might say that they show their true colors. But it’s not only trees that light up the autumn landscape. Many beautiful shrubs share this fascinating characteristic. 

The science behind this shift in hues is fascinating. As daylight hours shorten, trees send out fluid that closes the veins at the base of each leaf. Sugars trapped in the leaves cause the production of anthocyanins, which produce shades of red and purple in plant tissue. Shades of gold and orange happen as a result of carotenoids in some plants.

Fothergilla ‘Mount Airy’

	botanical name Fothergilla gardenii ‘Mount Airy’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3’-6’
	hardiness zones 5-8

Fothergilla is at the top of the list because it’s a well-known and colorful fall shrub. This sturdy and disease-resistant shrub has wonderful spring bottlebrush flowers that attract pollinators. It prefers full exposure but is tolerant of partial shade. 

Oakleaf Hydrangea ‘Munchkin’

	botanical name Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Munchkin’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3’-5’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Oakleaf hydrangeas are summer-flowering, and they show off big time when they bloom. Large panicles of white flowers mature to pale pink with green stems. It’s a gorgeous plant.

You can leave the flowers to dry on the plant if you like. They will retain their shape but fade to a light brown. Delaying pruning can affect next year’s blooms, however, as this is an old wood bloomer. 

‘Munchkin’ is a product of the U.S. National Arboretum. It’s compact, fitting well into smaller gardens. It has dense, deep green foliage that morphs into an opulent wine red in the fall. 

American Beautyberry 

	botanical name Callicarpa americana
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3’-8’
	hardiness zones 6-10

I love this next shrub for so many reasons. Lucky for me, I have quite a few of them in my yard. My chickens’ affinity for the berries keeps new ones popping up every year. The loose growth habit makes this a graceful plant with long, curving branches. 

In early summer, small pink flowers bloom in clusters all along the branches, drawing in bees and butterflies. It plays host to spring azure butterflies, and I often see gorgeous spicebush swallowtails flitting around it in pairs. 

The fall color is a result of two factors in this shrub. First, the green foliage fades to an attractive pale yellow. Perhaps more desirable, though, are the dazzling magenta berries that follow those pink blossoms. They are quite showy and attractive to birds, remaining on the bush after the leaves fall. 

Winged Sumac 

	botanical name Rhus copallinum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 7’-15’
	hardiness zones 4-9

If you’re a bird lover, winged sumac is a wonderful shrub to add to your garden. Its showy, yellow summer flowers come before copious clusters of bright red berries, which are a valuable food source for birds such as the American goldfinch, Blue Jay, northern cardinal, and many more. 

In the fall, the shrub’s green foliage changes to scarlet and fiery orange colors to match the berries that persist after the foliage drops. Winged sumac is easygoing and tolerant of most soil types, drought, and salt. Very few issues arise concerning pests or diseases. 

Carolina Allspice ‘Michael Lindsey’

	botanical name Calycanthus floridus ‘Michael Lindsey’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6’-10’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Carolina allspice is another low-maintenance, pest and disease-resistant shrub with fancy fall color. Add this to your yard for the dark red flowers in late spring that smell strongly of spice and fruit. It’s a mid-sized plant that can handle clay soil and naturalizes easily. 

‘Michael Lindsey’ is an award-winning variety. It holds a Gold Medal Award from The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. It will tolerate partial shade but will bloom better with full exposure. The ovate leaves change to gold in autumn, brightening the landscape. 

Virginia Sweetspire ‘Henry’s Garnet’

	botanical name Itea virginica ‘Henry’s Garnet’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3’-5’
	hardiness zones 5-9

This low-maintenance bush is a huge bloomer in late spring to early summer. The white bottlebrush flowers are fragrant and highly attractive to pollinators. They cover the entire plant, even when the shrub gets a fair bit of shade. 

‘Henry’s Garnet’ is a winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit. In autumn, the dense foliage turns shades of deep red and purple and remains intact well into the winter months. This is a great native addition to the eastern United States garden. 

Highbush Blueberry ‘Rubel’

	botanical name Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Rubel’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 5’-7’
	hardiness zones 3-7

This plant does double duty as an ornamental and a food source! Highbush blueberries are native to eastern North American bogs. They are upright growers, reaching heights of seven feet or more. They are self-fertile and prefer slightly acidic soil. Try planting these alongside your azaleas or camellias. 

‘Rubel’ is a heavy producer of exceptionally flavorful fruit. They are extra high in antioxidants and ripen near the end of the season. Their autumn color is bright red, evidence of their high sugar content, which makes those berries extra tasty. White, bell-shaped flowers in the spring are an added bonus.

Black Chokeberry 

	botanical name Aronia melanocarpa
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3’-6’
	hardiness zones 3-8

Consider a black chokeberry for nearly year-round interest if you struggle with soil or drainage issues. They are drought, salt, and pollution-tolerant and can handle wet, boggy soil, too! Very few pests or diseases are an issue for chokeberries, and birds love them, but deer won’t bother them. 

Fragrant flowers in spring attract pollinators, and large clusters of black berries follow. These draw many types of game and songbirds to the garden. The leaves are ovate and lightly toothed around the edges. They change to radiant shades of red and orange, setting the landscape aglow. 

Viburnum ‘Nanum’

	botanical name Viburnum opulus ‘Nanum’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1.5’-2’
	hardiness zones 3-8

Viburnums are commonly evergreen, but V. opulus is deciduous, so don’t mistake it for its evergreen relatives. Most of them flower and then bear fruit, but most grow this variety for its foliage. 

‘Nanum’ is a dwarf that rarely flowers, so it also rarely bears fruit. It’s compact and low-growing and makes a nice low hedge or small accent. Its heavily textured leaves turn the most amazing shade of wine red in autumn. It’s breathtaking!

Smoke Bush ‘Young Lady’

	botanical name Cotinus coggygria ‘Young Lady’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 4’-6’
	hardiness zones 4-8

Smokebush is a fascinating plant that adds a ton of interest to the garden. Its name comes from its major blooming habit. Large, fluffy puffs of flowers cover the entire shrub in late spring and early summer, creating the look of a giant puff of smoke. The shrub is small to medium in size and fits well in most spaces. 

‘Young Lady’ is a special cultivar and a winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit. It’s on the smaller side and begins blooming at a young age. It also blooms more heavily than most varieties. In fall, this shrub’s ovate leaves change to colors of red, orange, and gold. It’s not picky about soil, but good drainage is a must. 

Redvein Enkianthus ‘Albiflorus’

	botanical name Enkianthus campanulatus ‘Albiflorus’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6’-16’
	hardiness zones 5-7

You may not have heard of this shrub before, but you won’t soon forget it. Redvein enkianthus is native to Japan and has some wonderful characteristics that make it a great choice for the landscape. Few pests or diseases will bother it, and it’s flexible about sunlight doing fine in partial shade if it needs to. 

Serviceberry ‘Autumn Brilliance’

	botanical name Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 15’-25’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Serviceberry can be a large shrub or trained into a small tree. If allowed, it often reaches heights of 15-25 feet, but you can prune it to keep it shorter. In the spring, it produces beautiful, star-shaped, white flowers, followed by small edible berries that mature from red to deep purple. 

‘Autumn Brilliance’ has all the best characteristics of its species: beautiful flowers, bright and showy berries, and incredible fall color. It will light up the garden in red, orange, and bronze. It will draw pollinators in the spring, and in the summer, it will attract many birds. 

Ozark Witch Hazel ‘Sandra’

	botanical name Hamamelis vernalis ‘Sandra’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6’-10’
	hardiness zones 4-8

Witch hazel is a fantastic plant to have in the garden. It offers four seasons of interest, beginning blooming in winter and continuing into the spring. Small, fragrant yellow flowers light up the winter landscape. 

‘Sandra’ is a large cultivar with a vase-shaped growth habit. When the leaves unfurl, they are reddish-purple, deepening to green in the summer. In autumn, the foliage flushes red and orange. It likes rich soil that retains some moisture but also drains well. 

Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle

	botanical name Diervilla lonicera
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2′-3’
	hardiness zones 3-7

Although not a true honeysuckle, dwarf bush honeysuckle does have similar flowers, from which it gets its name. However, the similarities end there, as this is not a vining plant but a shrub with toothy, serrated leaves and berries that come after the flowers. 

The leaves are bronze and green from the start, and white blooms turn to bright red berries. The berries accent the shrub’s fall color, which is crimson, backlit with yellow, and tipped with violet. This is a low-maintenance addition that is tolerant of sandy, dry, and heavy soils. 

Barberry ‘Orange Rocket’

	botanical name Berberis thunbergii ‘Orange Rocket’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 4’-5’
	hardiness zones 4-8

Japanese barberry shows off all year with leaves that are bright coral and shift to light, bright green in the summer. They do produce flowers, but they are not significant. Red berries follow the flowers, however, and they attract birds and other wildlife.

The autumn hues are red and orange, and often, the berries persist after the leaves fall. ‘Orange Rocket’ is a beautiful and showy variety. Avoid planting this in the Northeastern United States, as it makes the invasive species list in that region. 

Summersweet ‘Ruby Spice’

	botanical name Clethra alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 4’-6’
	hardiness zones 4-8

Summersweet is the total package. The most distinctive features are the bright pink, bottle-brush-shaped flowers. These large clusters are highly fragrant, so plant this shrub where you’re certain to enjoy the scent. The bloom season is mid-to-late summer. 

Following the flowers, the autumn color begins to show as the glossy green leaves change to a rich gold color. ‘Ruby Spice’ has extra fragrant flowers and has won several awards. These include an Award of Garden Merit from the RHS, a Gold Medal award from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and a Cary Award. 

Red Osier Dogwood 

	botanical name Cornus sericea
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6’-9’
	hardiness zones 3-7

Dogwood trees have a reputation for their beautiful fall colors, but they tend to be a bit large to classify as shrubs. Red osier dogwood, however, is a fast grower but stays closer to nine feet at maturity.

The appeal of this dogwood goes beyond mere flowers. The flowers are pretty, don’t get me wrong, but I would be remiss to neglect to mention the incredible red bark and white decorative berries. The foliage is often variegated, which gives it even more personality when it takes on red and purple tones in autumn. 

Bottlebrush Buckeye

	botanical name Aesculus parviflora
	sun requirements Partial to full shade
	height 8’-12’
	hardiness zones 5-9

This multiple-award winner is native to the Southeastern United States. It’s a woodland plant that prefers at least partial shade but will tolerate a fair amount of exposure if it needs to. Hummingbirds and butterflies will flock to the bottlebrush blooms in summer. These are long-blooming and a great nectar source for pollinators. 

Bottlebrush buckeye makes a nice hedge or border for woodland gardens. It performs well in soil with less-than-ideal drainage. You won’t need to prune much, and pests rarely bother this one. Enjoy delightful golden foliage in autumn from this dense, medium-sized shrub. 

Common Ninebark 

	botanical name Physocarpus opulifolius
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 5’-8’
	hardiness zones 2-8

Common ninebark makes a great addition to the garden in any season. Its lovely fountain shape shows off large, dense clusters of creamy white flowers in late spring. When the flowers fall, berries remain and deepen to rich ruby red through the summer. 

In fall, the leaves change to bold shades of gold, orange, and red. In winter, the leaves fall to reveal beautiful peeling bark. Multiple shades of tan, cinnamon, and brown make this a wonderful shrub for all seasons.