Autumn Colour

Red Oak tree

In Britain this is by far the most commonly planted American oak. It comes from eastern North America from Nova Scotia to Georgia. The first introductions to Britain were confused by wrong identificat...[more]

Blue Atlas Cedar tree

This robust blue-grey needled conifer is indispensable in most ornamental tree collections. It is the ideal foil for anything with golden or copper foliage, and even 'sets off' many green leaved plant...[more]

Cappadocian Maple tree

The most striking feature of this maple is the way it suckers from the roots. In a short period of time after planting it may develop into a thicket. In a further 20 years it will become a small wood ...[more]

Cut-leaved Birch tree

This cultivar of common silver birch has all the features of the silver birch but in addition it has finely cut foliage. Furthermore most specimens are very symmetrical and elegant, with fine graceful...[more]

Dawn Redwood tree

This relic of a 200 million year old fossil species was considered to be extinct until live plants were discovered in China in 1946. Seed reached the Arnold Arboretum in January and March 1948. Over 6...[more]

Double Gean

This is probably the best white cherry in cultivation. Like its parent the native wild cherry it makes a big tree. It is equally as floriferous as any white Japanese cultivar but does not have the stu...[more]

Golden Japanese Maple tree

This small picturesque distinctly Japanese tree brings a flash of gold to the arboretum throughout the summer months. It has rounded yellow leaves, each having about 11 toothed lobes. It is very much ...[more]

Grey Snakebark Maple tree

This is a green snake-bark maple. It has deep green faintly bloomed young branches which develop fine vertical white stripes. The foliage is also rich green, but the leaf veins are rust coloured. Henc...[more]

Honey Locust

Usually rounded but often wide spreading, this is an elegant tree which becomes a special feature both in spring and autumn each year. It is worth a place in every lowland collection where space permi...[more]

Hop Hornbeam

This tree is native to Europe and Asia Minor, including southern Britain. It is superficially like beech but is more tolerant of frost and poor ground. The wood is white, hard and heavy, but not flexi...[more]

Hupeh Crab Apple

Spring flowers in pendulous clusters are a feature of this small tree. It has wide spreading branches which, in a good season, may be covered with white blossom. By late summer the whole tree is festo...[more]

Japanese Maple tree

This is perhaps the best known 'autumn colour' tree grown in Britain. Few if any other species can compare with it for richness of colour. Each individual plant will change to more or less a single co...[more]

John Downie Crabapple

The heavy fruiting crab apple 'John Downie' was raised in Lichfield England in 1875 by Mr E Holmes. It was named after his friend and fellow nurseryman John Downie from Scotland. The tree, which resem...[more]

Joseph Rock Rowan

This mysterious mountain ash is probably of Chinese origin but that is by no means certain. It was given a collection number by Joseph Rock (1884-1962) an Austrian botanist working for the US Departme...[more]

Kashmir Rowan tree

This is a superb small ornamental mountain ash which has the double attraction of spring flowers and persistent berries later on. The pretty flowers are pale pink which is unusual for a rowan. They oc...[more]