What to Plant in the Fall in the High Elevation

Although our architectural services in Lake Tahoe and Truckee focus primarily on designing your home, we are often asked about the trees and plants that might be ideal to complement our home designs.  And as fall is now in full swing, now is the time to decide what trees and shrubs you might want to plant before the frost arrives.

To help you out, we researched the internet and found this great blog written by the professionals at the Outdoor Design Group out of Colorado. 

As their elevation is similar to ours, here are their recommendations for high-elevation trees that would be ideal for homes in and around the High Sierra.

Deciduous Trees

• Quaking Aspen    Populus tremuloides
• Canada Red Cherry    Prunus virginiana ‘Canada Red’
• Russian Hawthorne    Crataegus ambigua
• Ginnala Maple    Acer ginnala
• Apple and Crabbaple    Malus (several types)
• Alder    Alnus tenuifolia
• Tartarian Maple    Acer tartaricum
• Birch    Betula (several types)
• Mountain Ash    Sorbus aucuparia
• English Oak    Quercus robur

Evergreen Trees

• Southwestern White Pine    Pinus strobiformis
• Ponderosa Pine    Pinus ponderosa
• Colorado Blue Spruce    Picea pungens
• Douglas Fir    Pseudotsuga menziesii glauca
• White Fir    Abies concolor
• Limber Pine    Pinus flexilis
• Bristlecone Pine    Pinus aristata

Deciduous Shrubs

• Burning Bush    Euonymus ‘Turkstanica Nana’
• Peking Cotoneaster    Cotoneaster lucidus
• American Cranberry    Viburnum trilobum
• Currant    Ribes (several types)
• Lilac    Syringa (several types)
• Potentilla    Potentilla (several types)
• Siberean Peashrub    Caragana arborescens
• Snowball Viburnum    Viburnum opulus
• Rock Spirea    Holodiscus dumosus
• Sumac    Rhus (several types)
• Willow    Salix (several types)
• Sand Sage    Artemesia filifolia
• Serviceberry    Amelanchier (several types)
• Barberry    Berberis (several types)

Evergreen Shrubs

• Juniper    Juniperus (several types)
• Mugo Pine    Pinus mugo
• Dwarf Alberta Spruce    Picea glauca
• Blue Globe Spruce    Picea pungen ‘Globosa’
• Weeping Norway Spruce    Picea abies ‘Pendula’
• Yucca    Yucca (several types)
• Euonymus    Euonymus (several types)

Ornamental Grasses

• Blue Oat Grass    Helictotrichon sempervirens
• Blue Fescue    Festuca glauca
• Ravenna Grass    Erianthus ravennae

Perennials

• Aster    Aster (several types)
• Columbine     Aqueiegia
• Blue Flax    Linum perenne
• Snow in Summer    Cerastium tomentosum
• Wild Strawberry    Waldsteninia ternata
• Kinnikinnick    Actostaphylos uva-ursi
• Painted Daisy    Tanacetum coccineum
• Delphinium    Delphinium (several types)
• Bleeding Heart    Dicentra spectabilis
• Oregon Grape Holly    Mahonia repens
• Yarrow    Achillea (several types)
• Lupine    Lupinus (several types)
• Sedum    Sedum (several types)
• Black Eyed Susan    Rudbeckia fulgida
• Windflower    Anemone canadensis
• Serbia Iris    Iris sibirica

We hope this information helps you and your family prepare your yard for the years to come. And, if you ever need more insight into what it is like to live in the mountains or need a professional architect in Lake Tahoe to help build your mountain, lakefront, or golf resort home at Lake Tahoe, feel free to reach out at any time.