Planting trees and shrubs is a key long-term investment in any landscape, and fall is one of the best seasons to plant them. For Bettendorf homeowners, fall planting trees and shrubs takes advantage of cooler temperatures while giving new roots time to begin establishing before winter arrives. Colorful leaves are an invitation for us to drink in the beauty around us and let it inspire new plantings at home. Below, you’ll find a guide to the most colorful fall trees and how best to welcome them into your landscape this September. 

Why Trees and Shrubs are Key to a Landscape 

1. Structure and Microclimate: Trees and shrubs provide the skeleton and structure of a well-designed yard. Their trunks, branches, foliage, and form create visual anchors, provide shade, and help shape how sunlight moves through the landscape year after year. 

2. Long-Term Gifts: Trees and shrubs offer spring blossoms, summer shade, berries and other fruit, brilliant autumn foliage, and an intricate winter silhouette. Choosing plants with several seasons of interest means they benefit your landscape throughout the year.

3. Ecological Benefit: Besides the benefits they give us, trees and shrubs provide valuable food, shelter, and habitat for the wider world of life around us, including many birds that migrate through Bettendorf as well as the species that live here year-round. 

4. Fall Color: Fall is one of the best times to appreciate the remarkable variety that trees and shrubs can bring to a property. Some turn brilliant red, orange, or yellow, while others develop deeper burgundy or purple tones before dropping their leaves. 

The Best Trees and Shrubs for Fall Color

A thoughtful combination of trees and shrubs in Bettendorf, Iowa, can create layers of color that evolve throughout the seasons rather than peaking all at once.

• Maples are popular for a reason, bringing strong fall hues in shades that can range from yellow and orange to brilliant red. Red maple and some cultivars of sugar maple can become outstanding autumn features when planted in suitable conditions. Always check mature height and spread because a tiny nursery tree has a surprisingly big future.

• Oaks offer more than fall color, with strong branching structure and an impressive presence that becomes increasingly valuable as the tree matures. Many oaks develop warm red, bronze, russet, or brown autumn foliage rather than the vivid scarlet associated with some maples. Their substantial form can also provide shade and valuable wildlife resources.

• Serviceberry is a smaller tree or large shrub that can fit properties where a towering shade tree would be too much. Depending on the selection and conditions, it can provide spring flowers, edible berries, attractive summer foliage, and red-orange fall color. Its manageable scale makes it particularly useful around patios, front gardens, and smaller yards.

• Burning bush and friends: burning bush is a longtime favorite, but  homeowners can consider native or shrubs that offer strong autumn foliage. Ninebark, for example, provides attractive foliage, peeling bark, flowers, and an interesting structure that continues beyond the fall season. Choosing a veriety also gives the landscape more ecological value without sacrificing visual appeal.

• Dogwood shrubs provide colorful stems that become particularly noticeable after their leaves drop. Red- and yellow-stemmed selections can add winter interest while also providing useful structure in mixed shrub borders. They work especially well when planted where their branching can be appreciated against snow or evergreen foliage.

This is just a taste of many more options that you can explore at your local garden center or nursery. Remember: your ideal selection should fit the available space, sunlight, soil, mature size, and overall character of the property.

Beyond Leaves: Berries, Bark, and Evergreen Interest

Eye-Catching Berries

Beautiful autumn foliage is wonderful, but it should not be the only feature considered when selecting trees and shrubs for landscaping. Shrubs such as viburnums, winterberry, and serviceberry can produce berries that add seasonal color while offering food for birds and other wildlife. A landscape with berries, seedheads, branching structure, and foliage has much more visual depth than one that depends entirely on flowers. Try Callicarpa, Symphoricarpos for a unique plant you don’t see in every landscape. 

Beautiful Bark 

Bark can become one of the most interesting features of a landscape after leaves have fallen. Paper birch, river birch, and certain dogwoods offer distinctive bark that gives the garden something to admire through the colder months. When choosing a tree, look down as well as up and consider whether its trunk and branches will remain attractive after the autumn display is finished.

All-Season Evergreens

Evergreens provide another layer of dependable interest. Arborvitae, spruce, pine, and other hardy evergreens can provide year-round color while also creating screening and shelter for wildlife. Combining evergreen forms with deciduous trees and shrubs keeps the landscape from looking empty once autumn leaves eventually make their way to the ground.

Choose Plants That Solve a Landscaping Need

A beautiful plant is even more valuable when it solves a practical problem in the yard, whether that means creating privacy, adding shade, framing an entrance, softening a foundation, or filling an empty corner. Consider the many purposes of trees and shrubs when you add them to your yard. 

Why Fall Can Be a Good Time to Plant

Fall can offer several advantages for establishing trees and shrubs in an Iowa landscape:

• Cooler air: Lower temperatures can reduce heat and moisture stress on newly planted plants.

• Warm soil: Soil can remain relatively warm into autumn, giving roots an opportunity to begin establishing before winter.

• Less summer stress: Plants are no longer dealing with the most intense heat of the growing season.

• A head start: Well-established roots can help plants begin the following spring with a stronger foundation.

How to Plant Trees and Shrubs Successfully

1. Choose the right location. Check the plant's mature height and width, sunlight requirements, drainage needs, and proximity to buildings, sidewalks, utility lines, and other plants.

2. Dig wide, not unnecessarily deep. Make the planting hole several times wider than the root ball when practical, but avoid digging it deeper than the root system requires. Loose soil around the sides gives new roots room to move outward.

3. Find the root flare. Locate the point where the trunk begins to widen and roots start extending outward. This area should remain at or slightly above the surrounding soil rather than being buried.

4. Set the plant at the correct depth. Place the root ball in the hole and check its height before backfilling. Planting too deeply can restrict healthy root development and create long-term problems for the trunk.

5. Backfill with the existing soil. Return the excavated soil around the root ball, gently firming it as you go. Mix the existing soil with an organic compost like Earnest Earth. Avoid packing the soil tightly because roots need access to air as well as water.

6. Water thoroughly. Give the newly planted tree or shrub a slow, deep watering immediately after planting. This helps settle the soil around the roots and eliminates large air pockets.

7. Finish with mulch. Apply a few inches of shredded mulch over the root zone, keeping it several inches away from the trunk or main stems. Think of mulch as a protective blanket, not a volcano.

Key Tips for Watering Before Winter

Proper watering and winter protection are especially important when fall planting trees and shrubs, since new roots need time and consistent moisture to establish before the ground freezes.

Tip 1: Keep Watering Until the Freeze 

Watering remains one of the most important responsibilities after planting. Continue checking newly planted trees and shrubs throughout autumn and water deeply when needed, particularly during dry periods. Keep going until the ground begins to freeze, because roots can continue developing while the soil remains workable and moisture is available.

Tip 2: Mulch for Moisture Protection 

Mulch helps conserve soil moisture, moderate temperature changes, and reduce competition from weeds. Spread it across the root zone in an even layer rather than creating a thick mound around the trunk. Piling mulch directly against bark can trap excess moisture, encourage decay, and create conditions that attract pests, so leave a visible gap around the trunk.

Tip 3: Water during Dry Spells of Winter

As winter approaches, pay attention to unusually dry weather rather than assuming cold temperatures eliminate the need for water. Newly planted evergreens can be particularly vulnerable because they continue losing moisture through their foliage when conditions allow. Good fall care gives plants a better chance of entering winter with adequate moisture and a healthy root system.

Start Building a More Beautiful Fall Landscape

Mid-September is a perfect reminder that a beautiful landscape is about more than flowers in bloom. For Bettendorf homeowners, fall planting trees and shrubs can be an excellent opportunity to make thoughtful improvements now and begin building a landscape that becomes more rewarding as it grows. Come visit Wallace's Garden Center to explore trees and shrubs suited to your property's sunlight, soil, available space, and long-term goals.