molten lava leaves

There are several excellent medium-sized trees that can be planted beside patios and near driveways and avenues in the lower South (zones 7-9) but the Chinese pistache is arguably the one with the most vivid fall color. Be patient if you plant a young specimen; try to train it to a central trunk. Until the lower branches are above your head, it may look a little gangly. This Chinese pistache sits beside the building where I work. Last week, I kept meaning to take a picture and finally got around to it on Friday's lunch break. I am glad I did. Today, almost half of these beautiful leaves were down on the ground and plastered to the cement sidewalk. Sunday's breezy and rainy pass from a cold front did a week's worth of stripping in one day. This tree is part of a row of three-- planted approximately fifteen years ago.