previous
  • Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
    Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
  • Make a Succulent Topiary
    Make a Succulent Topiary
  • Elephant's Ears
    Elephant's Ears
  • Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
    Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
  • Pretty in Pink
    Pretty in Pink
  • Mulch for a Healthy Garden
    Mulch for a Healthy Garden
  • 6 Tips for Weed Control
    6 Tips for Weed Control
  • Thoughts From a Foreign Field
    Thoughts From a Foreign Field
  • Dwarf Citrus Trees
    Dwarf Citrus Trees
  • Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
    Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
  • Comfortable Alfresco Dining
    Comfortable Alfresco Dining
  • Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
    Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
  • Building a Compost Bin
    Building a Compost Bin
  • Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
    Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
  • Designing with Curved Terraces
    Designing with Curved Terraces
  • Containers as Focal Points
    Containers as Focal Points
  • Fragrant Plants for Pathways
    Fragrant Plants for Pathways
  • Stylish Shady Containers
    Stylish Shady Containers
  • Plants that Spark!
    Plants that Spark!
  • Colorful Selections for Shade
    Colorful Selections for Shade
  • In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
    In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
  • NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
    NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
  • Lawn Alternatives
    Lawn Alternatives
  • Save Money by Growing Your Own
    Save Money by Growing Your Own
  • Homegrown / Homemade
    Homegrown / Homemade
next

Browse Plants

Narrowed By:Zone: 4+ Characteristics: Interesting Bark+ Seasonal Interest: Spring
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 listings   Sort By: Sort
Acer griseum Acer griseum
(Paperbark maple)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This slow-growing understory tree has highly ornamental, peeling orange-cinnamon bark. Its dark green, three-lobed leaves turn a brilliant orange-red in autumn.

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Aurea' Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Aurea'
(Hinoki cypress)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Hinoki cypress is a conical, evergreen, coniferous tree with leaves that are actually minute scales on tiny branches in the form of fans. The outer foliage of 'Aurea' is golden and the inner is green. Growth can be slow. Use as a specimen or use several as screening.

Cladrastis lutea Cladrastis lutea
(Yellowwood)
(3 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Yellowwood is a vase-shaped spreading tree with dark green foliage that turns a delicate yellow or orange in the fall and smooth light gray bark. Breathtaking, pendulous, foot-long, wisteria-like clusters of fragrant white flowers appear in late spring and early summer, often in alternate years.

Cornus alba 'Elegantissima' Cornus alba 'Elegantissima'
(Redtwig dogwood, Cream-edge tatarian dogwood)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This vigorous deciduous shrub provides a long season of interest in the garden with its variegated leaves, attractive berries, pretty fall color, and red winter stems.

no image available Cornus alba
(Redtwig dogwood)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

These showy shrubs have two distinct phases of garden interest. In winter, they display boldly colorful bark—red, yellow, or orange—on twiggy stems to make a striking scene. In spring, the stems lose their vivid color and produce bright green, gold, or variegated foliage that accents the garden through the fall. Twig and leaf color vary according to the cultivar.

Cornus racemosa 'Emerald' Cornus racemosa 'Emerald'
(Snow Lace® gray dogwood)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This native shrub dogwood is more compact than the species with semiglossy, emerald green foliage and showy, white fruit. Purple fall leaf color and rosy pink pedicels make this gray dogwood a fine choice for the woodland edge. Its silvery gray bark in winter adds interest into another season. White flowers in the spring add to the list of what it offers. Plant this dogwood in the landscape where it will be seen in the fall and winter. It rarely suckers.

Cornus stolonifera Cornus stolonifera
(Red osier dogwood)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Red osier dogwood is a deciduous shrub with a rounded, spreading form. Opposite leaves with rounded bases are ovate to lance-shaped and dark green, turning a dull red, purple-red, or orange in autumn. Clusters of white flowers appear in late May to early June, followed by white to pale blue fruit. Green stems turn reddish or purple-red from late summer into early fall, becoming brighter in winter.

Parrotia persica Parrotia persica
(Persian parrotia tree, Persian ironweed)
(3 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Parrotia persica has one of the most beautiful foliage displays, in addition to year-round eye appeal and ease of maintenance. Reddish-purple when unfolding in spring, the leaves are a lustrous dark green in summer, and yellow to orange or scarlet in fall. Leaves hold their color for a long period. Older branches and trunks develop an exfoliating gray, green, white, and brown color that is a welcome asset in the winter garden. It grows successfully in Zones 4 to 8, tolerates sun and partial shade, and is easy to transplant. Often, vegetatively propogated forms offer more reliable fall color.

Physocarpus opulifolius 'Center Glow' Physocarpus opulifolius 'Center Glow'
(Ninebark)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This ninebark's new leaves unfurl a golden yellow and then mature to a rosy red-burgundy. Clusters of white blooms accompany the dramatic foliage in early summer, followed by bright red seedheads that fade to tan. 'Center Glow' is a fast grower and an ideal candidate for mixed borders or foundation plantings. It grows to 8 to 10 feet tall and almost as wide. In winter, the older stems have attractive peeling bark.

Physocarpus opulifolius 'Monlo' Physocarpus opulifolius 'Monlo'
(Diabolo® ninebark)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

With its upright, arching branches and dark chocolate to purple foliage, Diabolo® ninebark offers a color contrast with silver-leaved plants and makes a fine backdrop hedge. Clusters of button-like, pinkish white flowers appear in summer. Even when they fade to a tawny tone, they stand out nicely against the dark leaves. -Chris McKernan, Regional Picks: Lower Plains, Fine Gardening issue #120

Physocarpus opulifolius 'Seward' Physocarpus opulifolius 'Seward'
(Summer Wine ninebark)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Many gardeners know ninebark as an undistinguished shrub with ordinary green leaves, white flowers, and fall fruit. But 'Seward,' sold under the trademark name Summer WineTM, has outstanding burgundy leaves and pink flowers that bloom in early summer. This plant is super tough and makes a stunning focal point in a summer border.

Pieris japonica Pieris japonica
(Lily-of-the-valley bush, Japanese pieris, Japanese andromeda)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This neat, rounded shrub has given rise to many noteworthy cultivars. It grows to 12 feet tall and 10 feet wide, producing drooping clusters of delicate white blossoms in winter and spring. Use this shrub in a woodland, rock garden, container, or as a foundation plant.

no image available Pieris japonica 'Dorothy Wyckoff'
(Dorothy Wyckoff andromeda, Lily-of-the-valley bush, Japanese pieris, Japanese andromeda)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This compact, rounded shrub produces reddish-purple buds that first open as soft-pink then mature to white. It grows to about 5 feet high and wide, making it a superb specimen for a container or small garden.

Pinus densiflora 'Oculus Draconis' Pinus densiflora 'Oculus Draconis'
(Dragon's-eye Japanese red pine)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This pine's needles are marked with bands of yellow and green. The buttery yellow variegation on the 3- to 5-inch needles is present year-round, but intensifies as summer turns to fall and persists into winter. The scaly, fissured bark is lovely, ranging in color from gray to rich rusty orange. This is a graceful tree when mature, with an irregular branching habit and tilted trunk.

Tsuga canadensis Tsuga canadensis
(Canada hemlock)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This North American native grows to 70 feet tall, with a broadly pyramidal outline. It has deeply furrowed bark, small, oval cones, and slightly drooping branchlets with finely textured needles. It is suitable to a wide variety of uses, such as hedging or screening, and group or specimen plantings. It has given rise to a number of notable cultivars.

Vaccinium corymbosum Vaccinium corymbosum
(Highbush blueberry)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Highbush blueberry provides four seasons of fanfare, starting with twisted, peeling stems in winter; profuse white or pink blossoms in spring; savory blue fruit in summer; and long-lasting foliage the color of a rich red wine in fall. The maroon to scarlet fall shades are effective for a solid month or more, as the leaves (especially in full sun) are reluctant to fall. The best fruit set occurs when you plant at least two cultivars that will bloom concurrently to ensure cross-pollination.


Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 listings   Sort By: Sort