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Browse Plants

Narrowed By:Type: Trees+ Characteristics: Interesting Bark+ Seasonal Interest: Winter
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 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.

Acer triflorum Acer triflorum
(Three-flower maple)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This broadly columnar to spreading tree has peeling brown bark, three-palmate mid-green leaves, and brilliant orange-red fall foliage. It grows up to 30 feet tall and 25 feet wide.

no image available Arbutus unedo 'Elfin King'
(Strawberry tree)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This picturesque tree has rough, shredding, red-brown bark and glossy green leaves. It produces small white flowers followed by spherical, warty, reddish fruit.

Calocedrus decurrens Calocedrus decurrens
(California incense cedar)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This large, conical-shaped tree has dark green flattened sprays of evergreen scale-like leaves.

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Aurea' Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Aurea'
(Hinoki cypress)
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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.

Cornus florida Cornus florida
(Flowering dogwood)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This native flowering tree is best known for its early spring blossoms, which are actually yellowish green flowers clustered in the center of four showy, white to pink bracts 1-1/2 to 2 inches long. Clusters of four bright red fruits mature in early fall, often persisting into the beginning of winter. 

Ginkgo biloba Ginkgo biloba
(Maidenhair tree)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

One of the oldest tree species on the planet, ginkgo grows only about a foot a year, reaching 50 to 80 feet. Female trees set fleshy fruit that smell unpleasant as they decay; they contain edible nuts.

no image available Laburnum × watereri
(Golden chain tree)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Dense clusters of pendulous yellow flowers dangle from spreading branches in late spring. Leaves are dark green. Smooth green bark adds some winter interest.

Lagerstroemia fauriei Lagerstroemia fauriei
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This is a fast-growing, upright deciduous tree with delicate white flowers in early summer. As it matures, it develops a spectacular patchwork of bark in shades of gray, maroon, and brown. Oblong dark green leaves turn red-orange in autumn. Cultivar 'Fantasy' is vigorous and hardier than the species, with exceptional bark.

Lagerstroemia indica Lagerstroemia indica
(Crape myrtle)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Crape myrtle is an upright deciduous tree or large shrub. Dark green leaves emerge bronze. White, pink, red, or purple flowers appear from summer to autumn. Peeling gray-and-brown bark is attractive. 

no image available Larix kaempferi
(Japanese larch)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Fissured and scaly bark bark is tinted rust-brown in winter. Purplish red winter shoots are covered in a waxy bloom. Gray-green or bluish green leaves grow to 1.5 inches long.

Oxydendrum arboreum Oxydendrum arboreum
(Sourwood)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Sourwood, the lone species of the genus, is found in woodlands and along streams of eastern North America. This plant (named for the sour taste of its leaves) forms a pyramidal tree to 30 feet tall, with canoe-shaped, glossy leaves that turn vivid maroon, yellow, or purple in autumn. In late summer, its delicate panicles of fragrant, urn-shaped flowers spray forward, decorating the tree in white. The blossoms, which resemble lily-of-the-valley, are followed by yellowish seed capsules that turn brown and persist into winter. It makes an outstanding specimen both for a prominent position and also for a naturalized setting.

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.

Pinus densiflora 'Oculus Draconis' Pinus densiflora 'Oculus Draconis'
(Dragon's-eye Japanese red pine)
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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.

Sciadopitys verticillata Sciadopitys verticillata
(Japanese umbrella pine)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This glorious conifer constitutes the sole member of both its genus and plant family. It is without a peer in its beauty; on a mature specimen, its rich needles compose a sculpture of form, texture, and color that is unrivaled. The foliage develops a bronzy tint in winter. While it often grows to 30 feet in cultivation and 90 feet in the wild, its slow-growing nature inspires patience.

Stewartia pseudocamellia Stewartia pseudocamellia
(Japanese stewartia)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

A multi-stemmed, deciduous tree with a rounded columnar form, stewartia features stunning bark that exfoliates in strips of gray, orange, and reddish brown once the trunk attains a diameter of 2 to 3 inches. Serrated foliage emerges bronzy purple in spring, develops into a dark green by summer, and turns red or orange in the fall. In midsummer, "glamorous" white camellia-like flowers open in random succession and are followed by pointed brown seed pods, which are persistent but not very ornamental.

no image available Styrax japonicus
(Japanese snowbell and cvs.)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Japanese snowbell is a compact, deciduous tree with a graceful spreading habit. In late spring, it produces hanging clusters of sweetly scented, bell-shaped white flowers. Minutely toothed, bright green leaves have a clean, fresh look in all but the driest conditions. Attractive fine twigs are borne on slender, somewhat-layered branches, and the bark is a smooth gray-brown. ‘Pink Chimes' bears abundant, dangling clusters of pale pink flowers.

Taxodium distichum and cvs. Taxodium distichum and cvs.
(Bald cypress)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Its great beauty and variety of sizes and shapes makes this deciduous conifer a candidate for extensive use. Bald cypress is a tall, conical, almost columnar tree with pale brown, shallowly fissured bark. Its bright green needles become golden in the fall. The cultivar 'Monarch of Illinois' is shaped totally unlike the typical bald cypress, but shares its delicate foliage and warm-looking, ruddy bark. It has a large, rounded crown, like a maple. With an ultimate height of about 85 feet and spread to 65 feet, it is suited to large gardens. A smaller cultivar, 'Shawnee Brave', has a narrow, pyramidal growth habit, an ultimate height of 70 feet, and a span of up to 18 feet.

Tsuga canadensis Tsuga canadensis
(Canada hemlock)
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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.


Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 listings   Sort By: Sort