Foliage Follow-up: Winter Color

We don't get much in the way of fall color in my area of Southern California.  In recent years, at best the coral bark Japanese maple, persimmon trees and ornamental pear tree showed some color change.  This year, with warm weather extending well into November, even those trees didn't color up.  But since the temperatures dropped in December, things changed.  It's been cold here.  No, not cold like it gets in much of the US or Europe but cold for us, with daytime temperatures stuck between the upper 50sF and the low 60sF.  My friends and I complain about the cold when we meet for lunch.  My husband and I run the heater all night.  And the garden has reacted too.

Foliage that doesn't normally turn red did.

The variegated foliage of Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' (left) is mostly red and so is "evergreen" Abelia 'Edward Goucher' (right)

I've never seen the leaves on the gauva trees turn until now

Some plants turned pink.

The pink coloration on Agave 'Joe Hoak' may be a normal response to cold but I've never noticed this before

Aloe 'Blue Elf' is very, very pink - dry soil conditions may be a contributing factor in this case

My blueberries are pink too!

Yucca 'Bright Star' did turn pink last year as well but not this pink - I love these plants and wish I could find a few more in 1-gallon containers

Trees that showed no color change during the fall months began sporting rosy hues.

The leaves of Acer palmatum 'Mikawa Yatsubusa', a dwarf Japanese maple, turned brown and dropped off as summer extended into November but, when the nighttime temperatures turned cold, the plant produced fresh green foliage as if it was spring and, as the cold temperatures persisted, those leaves turned a beautiful orange

The last leaves left on the Pyrus calleryana (ornamental pear) eventually turned yellow, orange and red.  The tree also dropped more of its fruit (which even the birds won't eat) than it ever has before, making a horrific mess of the driveway.

These plants join a smaller group of plants that usually color up in winter.

The new foliage on the Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' is bright orange

Euphorbia tirucalli has responded to the cold with the bright winter color that gives it the common name of Sticks on Fire

And like the Abelia, variegated Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star' is now mostly red

I might be light on floral color this winter but the foliage is picking up the slack!

Visit Pam at Digging, the host of Foliage Follow-up, to find what plants are grabbing the attention of other gardeners this January.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party