6 Beautiful Trees with Attractive Bark

Trees offer so many features to the garden and landscape. Namely size, stature, privacy, shade, flowers leaves, and even colourful attractive bark. This last featue is particularly important with the deciduous trees - it gives the garden interest at a time when the rest of the garden is dormant. So without further ado, here are six beautiful trees with attractive bark. And yes, the bark of a dogwood is also quite nice ...

Paperbark Maple

Paperbark Maple
Acer griseum
This striking small to mid-sized specimen tree is arguably one of the most popular in the nursery.

Its size makes it ideal for today's smaller gardens and its multiple seasons of interest make it a great choice for most gardens. Deciduous green leaves turn a striking orange-red in autumn before they fall.

Outstanding cinnamon red-brown peeling, flaking bark looks great when silhoutted against a snowy winter landscape. Prefers full sun to part shade in moist, but well drained soils. Grows 2-25ft in height and 15-20ft in width. Hardy in zones 5-7.

Coral Bark Japanese Maple

Coral Bark Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum 'Sangu Kaku'
This Japanese maple variety is also extremely popular with customers. Architectural branching and light chartreuse green leaves in emerge in spring turning gold, orange and red in fall. As winter returns, Sangu Kaku's trunk and stems intensify into a brilliant coral red in colour. Great when planted in a location that is visible iduring the winter, for example, near a doorway or from a kitchen window. Ideal when combined with dwarf conifers, rhododendrons, camellias and other japanese maples. Grows 15-20ft in height and 12-15ft in spread. Prefers part shade to part sun, but will tolerate more sun if kept somewhat moist. Soil should be slightly acidic, moist but well drained. Can be planted in containers and gardens. Altough it is hardy in zones 5-8, protect from cold winds and expect some winter tip dieback with this variety. Deciduous.

Japanese Stewartia

Stewartia pseudocamellia
Japanese Stewartia
This deciduous specimen tree is a native of Japan's mountainous forests. It features green leaves, white camellia-like, summer blooming flowers with golden yellow stamens and striking red fall foliage colours. It's trunk is reddish-brown and peeling to reveal a pink, cream and gray inner bark.  Young trees begin narrow and columnar gradually widening with age. Although it is slow growing, it will eventually reach 20-40ft in height and 15-20ft in width. Grow in full sun in organic, moist, but well drained soils. Zones 5-8.





Himalayan White Birch

 Himalayan White Birch
Betula utilis var jacquemontii
This mid to large sized deciduous tree features striking white bark and green leaves that turn yellow in fall. A vigorous grower, it will ultimately reach 40ft in height and 20ft in spread. For an eye-catching look, plant it in combination with purple or red leaved trees such as japanese maples or flowering plums. Grows best in full sun in cool, moist, slightly acidic soils. Hardy in zones 4-7.

Arbutus, Madrone

Arbutus, Madrone
Arbutus menziesii
This native British Columbia tree is also one of the few broadleaf evergreen trees found in our area. Its a magnificent tree commonly found in coastal areas and is easily recognizable by its broadly spreading shape and exfoliating bark covered in cinnamon-brown scales. New exposed bark is lighter in colour and highly polished in appearance. Leaves are glossy dark green on top and pale green below. Sweetly fragrant clusters of white flowers appear in early summer and can attract hummingbirds. These bell shaped flowers are followed my brilliantly coloured orange-red roundish fruit in September and October. This tree is hard to transplant so plant them permanently when young. Grows best in coastal areas with mild maritime winters, hot dry summers and low summer moisture. Hardy in zones 7-9.



River Birch

 River Birch
Betula nigra
This under-used tree has one of the most attractive barks available. Whitish gray in colour and covered in pink, brown, orange and cream coloured flakes and papery strips. Leaves are diamond shaped with serrated edges and green in colour. Quite nice for creating dappled shade below. Foliage turns yellow in fall. Although the River Birch is fond of flood plains and wet, moist soils typically found along streams, rivers and ponds, it is also quite drought tolerant once established. Will reach 60- to 80ft wide and 40ft across in maturity.




These gorgeous trees and many others are available at Art's Nursery in a variety of sizes and prices. Drop by and browse our tree section or meet with one of our experienced horticulturists to learn about even more trees with multiple seasons of interest.

Five More Fabulous Trees For Fall Colour

Red Maple

The fab five trees for fall. Here you go folks. These are by no means the complete list, but they are my faves. Normally most of the spectacular fall colours would be gone and done by November, but this year the leaves are hanging in there!

Lucky us, gives me a little more time to get in those family Christmas photos…if I could only collect us together, and actually dressed respectably and not in soccer or gymnastic or biking gear for long enough to take a picture!

Red Maple
Acer rubrum
The first tree is actually a grouping of trees Acer rubrum or Red Maple cultivars. October Glory, Morgan, Scarlet Sunset, Autumn Flame to name a few. These are in my humble opinion an amazing and under rated tree.

They are relatively trouble free, tough hardy to zone 4, and can take a bit of sogginess now and then…its other common name is the swamp maple. Though a good humic, well drained soil in sun to part shade is ideal.

The fall colours are amazing from bright flame red, to yellow, orange and burgundy on the same tree at the same time to an amazing burgundy red depending on the cultivar. These trees also have a really neat early red bloom, quite attractive for a maple! They are a larger tree from 30 to 60 feet depending on the cultivar and tend to be an upright oval in shape.

Paperbark Maple

Paperbark Maple
Acer griseum
Acer griseum, the paperbark maple. I do love the scarlet fall foliage! It is really quite stunning I wish it lasted longer!!

Though once the leaves are off you do have that lovely cinnamon coloured peeling bark all winter long. The new growth is a rust colour changing to green followed by bright red winged seeds.

Actually a great tree for any time of year! This is a smaller maple, slower growing to about 30 feet. It prefers well drained healthy soil, sun or part shade.

Ginkgo biloba

Ginkgo Tree / Maidenhair Tree
Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo biloba has amazing buttery yellow fall colour. I think we can’t have enough yellow to brighten up those cold rainy days. Hey, the absolutely coolest thing about this tree, ok, except for helping your memory, is that it is actually a living fossil.

The Ginkgo dates back 270 million years! Gingko’s are large trees relatively trouble free and very tough. According to Wikipedia, six Ginkgo trees growing in Japan, survived the Atom bomb explosion and are in fact still alive today. Ginkgos do like full sun and drainage is a must.

Japanese Stewartia

Japanese Stewartia
Stewartia pseudocamellia

Stewartia pseudocamellia. Actually there are a lot of things about this tree that I like. We’ll start with the rich burgundy fall colour, reliably. For the winter you have the intriguing mottled flaking green and grey and almond coloured bark and zig zag branch patterning and for the late spring you have the white with yellow centered camellia like flowers that always seem to fall sunny side up. What is not to like about that!! It is a small tree to approximately 20 feet in 20 years. It prefers well drained, humic soil in sun to light shade.



Sweet Gum Tree

 Sweet Gum Tree
Liquidambar styraciflua
The final tree of the fab five bunch may well have the most dramatic fall colour. Known as the Sweet Gum, or Liquidambar styraciflua, this tree actually looks like it’s plugged in! From the inside out the leaves turn yellow, orange, red and deep burgundy on the outermost leaves giving the tree an almost glowing effect. The leaves hang on well into the winter and smell of eucalyptus when crushed. The corky looking furrowed silvery bark is kind of pretty in the winter with a bit of snow on it too!
It too is a pretty trouble free tree, with lovely lush glossy green leaves in the summer. It is a larger tree but grows at a nice sedate pace 35 feet in about 20 years. It does like a humic well drained soil in sun to part shade.
This list is by no means exhaustive… at Art's Nursery we carry a huge selection
of trees including these colourful types:

Kousa Dogwoods - Cornus kousa
Persian Ironwoods - Parrotia persica
Sourwoods - Oxydendron arboreum
And more!

And let's not forget the Japanese Maples…
I think they need a whole article unto themselves!!

If you are hunting for the perfect fall focal point come and visit Art's Nursery or go out to your local park or garden with your camera.

There are some great fall shots out there. VanDusen, UBC, Sendall Gardens, Redwood Park these are some of my favorite places to get fall inspiration. Let us know some of yours!