FALL COLOR
Upon moving to the Lowcountry, many of us miss the brilliant fall colors of the trees in our former location. We have some Sweetgums, Hickories, the occasional Dogwood and a few other trees with fall displays, but we just do not have the diversity and intensity of tree color that many areas have. This does not mean, however, that our Lowcountry landscapes must be completely devoid of fall color.
As this photograph of Sweetgrass in the morning dew taken by Patricia Schaeffer demonstrates, we do have some unique fall color of our own. Our native Sweetgrass, or Purple Muhly, (Muhlenbergia filipes) displays its stunning purple to pink panicles from 
October to November. It is ideally suited to our soils, is pest free, and, although it appreciates some supplemental water during very dry summer periods, is drought tolerant. It even grows naturally in the rear sand dunes along the Bobcat Dunes Nature Trail. It is a true icon of fall in the Lowcountry.
The combination of Winged Sumac (Rhus copallina) and the Groundsel Bush (Baccharis halimifolia) provides a brilliant red and white fall display that would excite many college football fans. Winged Sumac ( not to be confused with the nonrelated Poison Sumac) is a 10’20’ deciduous tree whose lustrous green leaves turn a brilliant red in the fall. The nondistinctive greenishyellow flowers of summer produce panicles of reddishbrown fruit which serves as fall food for many birds and small mammals. Since Winged Sumac readily spreads into dense clusters through shallow roots, it is best planted in a natural area where it has some space.
Groundsel Bush is a 5’10’ evergreen, oval to rounded shrub with soft graygreen leaves. The greenishwhite flowers of the female plant explode into a white, cottonlike froth enveloping the plant in the fall. The male plant flowers are not nearly as showy as the female’s but are one of the most highly preferred nectar sources for the Monarch Butterfly. The blooms are available just in time for the peak migration period of the Monarch over Seabrook Island in October.
Both Winged Sumac and Groundsel Bush are comfortable in our soils and do not require a lot of water. Groundsel is very salt tolerant and is often found adjacent to our salt marshes. Groundsel is very deer resistant but deer do occasionally browse on Sumac.
One of the few conifers that looses its needles in the fall, Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) provides an impressive fall color display of russet to orange brown. It is a conical shaped tree that can reach a height of over 100’ over its very long lifespan. The second oldest Bald Cypress in the U.S. is a 1,500 year old specimen growing in South Carolina’s Beidler Forest. Like the plants discussed above, the tree does well in our soils but generally prefers more water. It is frequently found in nature in and around fresh water swamps but adapts very well to a landscaped environment. Bald Cypress can tolerate standing water for an extended period of time. With the recent deluge, we were reminded that this can be a very important characteristic for a plant to have on Seabrook Island. The limbs of the Bald Cypress are very flexible and will not break off in hurricane winds as easily as those of pine trees do. The plant is also deer resistant and relatively pest free.
We may not be able to grow Sugar Maples on Seabrook Island, but as these four native plants and several others not mentioned demonstrate, there is unique fall color and beauty here that defines fall in the Lowcountry.
-Submitted by Don Smith