Of all the plant characterizes, bark is probably the one which goes unnoticed most often. Once deciduous trees and shrubs lose their foliage, a plant’s bark, hidden in summer, emerges and those trees and shrubs with interesting bark, begin to stand out in the garden. Some plants have bark with interesting texture while others have brilliant colors. An often overlooked feature in the garden, bark adds character and unique qualities to the winter landscape.
The Heritage Birch Tree (Betula nigra ‘Heritage’) is a great tree for any garden whose grey and tan bark is striking with the outer bark peeling back in large patches. The river birch has wonderful fall foliage and a beautiful form as well. The heritage birch an grow up to 60′ tall and 40-60′ wide.
Ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana) is an easy grow, shade tolerant tree for the woodland garden. Its bark is thin and slate gray, and irregularly fluted with smooth, sinewy, muscle-like ripples. The leaves are blue green above and yellowish green below. It thrives in the shade under larger trees.
The Shag Bark Hickory (Carya ovata), as the name suggests, has bark which peels away from the trunk giving the tree a shaggy look.
The Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) is a beautiful large shade tree growing 60-75′ tall and 50-60′ wide. Its bark, a dark gray-brown, contrasts nicely with the snow and adds texture with its long, deep ridges. Bright golden leaves in the fall make this tree treasure all year long.
Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum) is a relatively short (20‘-40‘), deciduous tree with a graceful, arching, uneven form. Its unique bark is smooth and green with long, white stripes on the trunk and branches. Old trunks lose the pronounced striped. In fall the foliage turns a brilliant yellow.
Coral Bark Maple’s (Acer palmatum ‘Sangokaku’) have stunning red bark that brightens up the garden in the fall and winter.
Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus Sericea), a great native shrub for the natural garden, has brilliant red stems. Easy to grow and maintain the red twig dogwood is one of the most prominent shrubs during the winter months as they stand in contrast against garden walls, evergreen shrubs or particularly snow. Dogwood shrubs are also available with yellow bark.
White Birch (Betula papyrifera) is a wonderful ornamental tree with distinct white peeling bark.
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