Autumn colour

Autumn colour: the most reliable plants for Scotland. Ken Cox advises

Best autumn colour is achieved in dry crisp autumns. Mild wet ones are less impressive. Most of those listed below will colour well every year.

• Acer (Japanese maples), incl. A. palmatum ‘Osakasuki’ (probably the best of all)
• Berberis thunbergii
• Betula (birch)
• Cercidophyllum Katsura
• Cotinus (smoke tree)
• Enkianthus
• Euonymus alatus, E. europaeus ‘Red Cascade’
• Parthenocissus (Boston Ivy and Virginia Creeper)
• Rhododendron (azalea) luteum and other deciduous azaleas

Cercidophyllum

Euonymus Alatus