While spring grabs all the headlines with its abundance of flowers, there are few things as beautiful as the transformation of leaves into shades of gold, orange, and red. This color change is so dramatic it is even visible from space https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/collection/1692/fall-colors.
Here are just a few tree selections that you may want to consider adding fall color to your own yard.
American yellowwood, Cladrastis kentukea, is native tree that might be unfamiliar to you. It reaches 30’-50’ at maturity with a rounded crown. This species has pinnately compound leaves, and the leaflets change from the bright green of summer to golden yellow. It is tolerant to a wide range of soil pH conditions and has the added benefit of producing panicles of white fragrant flowers in mid-spring.
Ginkgo, Ginkgo biloba, is classified as a large tree 50-80’ in height, but there are selections that are suitable for smaller spaces and as a street tree. Depending on the selection, trees can be upright or more spreading with age. It can tolerant heat, salt, and air pollution makings it a good selection for urban sites. Ginkgo has distinctive fan shaped leaves that change from green to gold and can easily capture autumn breezes. Ginkgo also has the unusual property of dropping its leaves in a short time often in a single day making leaf clean up easier.
Tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, is a great tree for large spaces. This tree can attain a height of 70’-90’ although trees have been reported to reach 150’ or more. This tree requires room to develop its oval crown. It prefers a slightly acidic well drained soil. Its distinctive simple broad leaves are bright green in summer changing to shades of yellow and gold in both landscape and woodlands sites.
For shades of gold, deep orange and red few trees can compare to sassafras, Sassafras albidum. This medium size tree 30-60’ needs a moist, well drained acidic soil and full sun to part shade to achieve its best growth. The leaves can take on one of three shapes, entire, mitten-shaped or three lobed.
Yellow buckeye, Aesculus flava, gets its common name from the color of its flowers in spring, but this tree is a star for its orange fall color. This tree needs a large space and can achieve a height of 75’ or more with a pyramidal to upright oval crown.
This tree does best in with a moist slightly acidic soil, but under dry conditions leaf scorch can be a problem. In general, yellow buckeye is less susceptible to leaf blotch than other members of its genera. The large palmately compound leaves color early in fall and take on shades of gold to bright orange.
Japanese zelkova, Zelkova serrata is medium to large tree 60’- 80’with a vase shaped crown. This tree is being used in cities because of its tolerance to drought, pollution, and urban stresses. The sharply serrated leaves are deep green in summer changing to shades of bronze to brunt orange fall.
One of the first trees to signal the change of season is flowering dogwood, Cornus florida. This small understory tree usually under 25’ is best known for its spring bloom but can have excellent fall color. This tree needs a moist, well drained, acidic soil that is high in organic matter. As an understory tree, it needs partial shade especially in the afternoon and is best suited at the woodland edge. The opposite branch arrangement gives this plant its characteristic look. The leaves are oval with an entire margin. The leaves change early to shades of red and burgundy.
For brilliant red fall color one of the most outstanding choices is the native Black Gum, Nyssa sylvatica. This small to medium size tree 30’-50’ typically has a pyramidal habit in youth that tends to become rounded with age. There are many newer selections that can fulfill a variety landscape uses. This plant needs an acidic soil (pH 5.5-6.5) and prefers a deep moist well drained soil with either full sun or partial shade. The small, simple, oval entire leaves are dark green and glossy in summer turning to brilliant scarlet in early autumn.
At the end of the autumn season is another outstanding tree for red fall color, the Scarlet Oak, Quercus coccinea. This is a large shade or specimen tree reaching 60’- 80’ in height, changing from a pyramidal to a rounded open shape with age. It needs a slightly acidic well drained soil and can tolerate a sandy dry location. It has a classic oak shaped leaf with C shaped sinuses. The lustrous dark green leaves change to shades of scarlet and red late in autumn. Considered by many authors to have the best fall color among the all the oaks.
Persian parrotia, Parrotia persica, may be a tree that is new to you. This is a small tree 20’- 30’ often broader than tall. It is a multi-season plant like many members of the witch hazel family with red flowers in early spring and exfoliating bark. This plant prefers a well-drained soil but is tolerant of higher pH soils. The leaves are similar in shape to witch hazel and are dark green throughout the growing season. In autumn these leaves transform to shades of yellow to orange then to scarlet and finally to burgundy. These leaves tend to be retained late into the season extending their landscape value.
Another tree that you might not know is Sourwood, Oxydendrum arboretum. This tree is native throughout the southeast U.S. west to Louisiana and north to southern Ohio and Indiana. This small to medium size specimen tree, 25’- 40’ grows into a pyramidal outline as it reaches maturity. Like other members of the Ericaceae family, sourwood has panicles of urn shaped fragrant flowers. The flowers appear in early summer and last up to one month, but the inflorescence structures remain intact as the seeds develop and add to the plant’s ornamental value. The summer leaves are shiny dark green and change to shades bronze, red, and purple. However, being an ericaceous plant, this species has specific requirement to thrive. It needs to be planted in an acidic well drained soil that is rich in organic matter. It will achieve the best flowering and fall color in full sun. This plant is not suited for a polluted urban location.
The final plant in this list of autumn beauties is truly a star, American Sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua. This can be a large, impressive shade tree reaching 60-75’ in height being pyramidal in youth becoming an oval to rounded crown when mature, but newer selections are more suitable for street trees and smaller landscapes. This tree has unique winged branches adding to winter interest. This large tree needs a large area to support its coarse root system. It prefers a rich, moist, slightly acidic soil. The large, serrated, star shaped leaves make this tree easy to identify. The leaves change from dark green to shades of yellow, red, and purple. It colors toward the end of the autumn season and can hold on to those leaves into winter. The only caution with this tree is the 1 - 1.5” fruit which drop during the fall and winter and can be a maintenance issue.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a new tree, soil requirements, mature size, maintenance issues, but also include fall color as a component of that decision to add shades of autumn splendor to your landscape’s attire.
While ginkgo, Japanese zelkova and Persian parrotia are not native, currently there is no evidence that these trees will become invasive.
If you would like to learn more about the trees featured in this article, visit https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx or https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants