As an unashamed fair-weather gardener, I can’t help but feel the pangs of “back to school” sadness every Sunday night as we slide towards autumn. I am simply not ready to pack my shorts and flip-flops away, along with the everyday joy of daylight and new life. Yet just when this feeling starts creeping up on me, without fail a single tree comes to my rescue: sorbus. The first properly cold evenings cause its feathery foliage to flush the most dazzling shades, setting off its bunches of berries to impossibly beautiful effect. It’s a reminder that without winters you would never get that blaze of autumnal colour that precedes them, or the riotous new growth of spring that follows. And in between, of course, it’s the perfect time to plant them.
I love how the fireworks of Sorbus vilmorinii are a display that constantly evolves. Bright red leaves create a dramatic foil for dusky pink berries in the early autumn, but as the temperatures tumble their crimson leaves sink to a deep purple while their berries slowly fade to a ghostly white. Proper magical stuff. Like many sorbus, their small stature means you won’t need rolling acres to grow them either, as they should get to a maximum of 5m. If you need a smaller version, S pseudovilmorinii is a pretty good doppelgänger that only grows to 4m. Similarly, the columnar habit of S aucuparia ‘Fastigiata’ means it packs a lot of colour into a relatively modest footprint. Despite growing up to 8m, its push skyward means it only grows half as wide – and is festooned with brick-red berries.
For lovers of fiery reds, S commixta ‘Dodong’ covers itself in big bunches of glossy berries that look like Christmas decorations set against green leaves throughout summer. When autumn arrives, the foliage eventually turns the same gorgeous red shade as the berries.
If you really want eye-popping colour contrast, however, I think it has to be ‘Joseph Rock’, whose fire-engine red leaves just pop against lemon yellow fruit. This crazy colour combination makes it look more like a Fraggle Rock character than something found in nature.
The best thing about all of these trees is that they aren’t just generous in the fall. They offer up bunches of delicate white flowers in the spring, followed by summer berries that are held on their branches for months on end, sometimes right up until the new blossom arrives. They are the ultimate multitaskers. And this is all before I even get on to their amazing ability to attract wildlife to your plot, their fruit providing a welcome source of food for garden birds when there is so little about.
In traditional folklore, sorbus are believed to be guardian trees, once planted near houses to watch over the occupants. Considering all they give each year, just when I need them most, I am inclined to agree.
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