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Fall Trees With the Best Color for Your Home Garden
A cool breeze and colorful leaves. Welcome autumn with beautiful trees!
The brilliant fall foliage in flaming shades of wine-red, gold, and bright orange is what we love most about the season. However, if your yard needs more autumn color, it is time to plant one of our top picks for the best fall trees from the garden nursery.
Planting a tree is an investment that will provide beauty, privacy, and shade for decades. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of autumn tree sales this season.
However, before you buy, do some research. What are the tree’s specifications, and is it the right fit for your garden?
If you are looking for a tree that will provide vibrant, show-stopping fall color, look no further. We will guide you through some of the best fall trees for your garden. Join us and turn your landscape into a slice of paradise.
Top 6 Best Trees for the Fall Season
1. Sugar Maple
Maple trees reign supreme in the world of fall foliage throughout North America. Tourists travel hundreds of miles to places like the White Mountains of New Hampshire to experience the spectacular fall color displays. Maples produce brilliant yellow, red, orange, or burgundy foliage, and the color of a single tree can vary from year to year.
To make delicious maple syrup, people tap and boil the sap from Sugar Maples (Acer saccharum) in the Acer genus. Sugar Maples can reach heights of 40 to 120 feet and are slow-growing trees with large leaves that are well suited for yards and streets.
Color Variation: Medium green leaves in spring and summer that turn yellow, orange, or red in the fall.
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Needs: Medium-moisture, well-drained soil
2. Tulip Tree
This magnificent ornamental tree produces beautiful yellow tulip-like flowers in late spring and turns an exquisite shade of yellow in the fall. A member of the magnolia family, the Tulip Tree brightens your landscape with an ethereal golden glow, earning its reputation as one of the best trees for fall color. It can also reach an impressive height of up to 90 feet.
One thing to remember about Tulip Trees is that their branches are somewhat flimsier than most, and their flowers tend to drop. As a result, you may need to do a little more yard cleanup throughout the year, particularly after windy days. Even so, we believe this specimen is well worth the extra effort.
Color Variation: Yellow, green, and brown
Soil Moisture: Moist
Sun Exposure: Full sun, partial shade, or shade
3. Amur Maple
This Asian maple’s glossy leaves transition beautifully through the season, beginning as vibrant lime green and ending in brilliant tomato red. During early fall, the tree often displays a mix of green, orange, yellow, and red leaves all at once, creating a spectacular display.
Little red flowers appear in the spring, and the stems turn red in winter, providing year-round visual interest. Reaching approximately 18 feet tall and 10 feet wide at maturity, it is an excellent choice for adding vibrant color to smaller landscapes.
Color Variation: Dark green on top and light green underneath, changing to bright red in the fall
Soil Needs: Adaptable to many soil types except alkaline or poorly drained soils
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
4. Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry
Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry is one of the most popular trees found at seasonal plant sales. It offers beautiful flowers, berries, and a spectacular display of fall colors in rich shades of orange, red, and purple. Its multicolored foliage creates a striking appearance that lights up any landscape throughout the season.
Color Variation: Orange and red
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Needs: Adaptable to most sites except consistently dry soils
5. Quaking Aspen
If you want to fill an open area of your property, Quaking Aspen is one of the best trees to consider. It is a hardy tree that grows well in USDA Zones 3 and 4. American Aspen and White Poplar are two other common names for this species.
During the fall, its leaves turn a beautiful golden color and rustle with even the slightest breeze, adding both movement and sound to your landscape.
Color Variation: Golden yellow and green
Sun Exposure: Full sun; does not tolerate shade
Soil Needs: Prefers sandy or loamy soil but tolerates a variety of soil conditions
6. River Birch
River Birch is a beautiful tree in the fall, but its appeal extends well beyond the season. Its attractive peeling bark provides year-round interest, complementing its vibrant autumn foliage. River Birch trees typically grow between 30 and 60 feet tall and tolerate wet soils better than many other landscape trees.
Although River Birch is a popular choice for North American landscapes, other birch species also offer unique characteristics. Paper Birch features striking white bark, Yellow Birch has attractive golden bark, and some varieties have graceful weeping forms. In the fall, they all produce beautiful yellow foliage.
Color Variation: Dark green leaves that turn yellow in the fall, along with attractive white and reddish-brown peeling bark
Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained soil that tolerates wet conditions
How to Select and Purchase the Ideal Fall Tree
- Consider the tree’s mature size. Always choose a tree that fits the available space.
- Review the tree’s soil, sunlight, hardiness, and growing requirements before purchasing.
- Remember that, as a general guideline, a tree’s root ball is similar in size to its crown.
- If you purchase a young tree, make sure it is not root-bound and has a healthy, balanced shape.
- When purchasing a grafted tree, ask about the rootstock that was used.
Bottom Line
Nothing compares to admiring beautiful trees during the fall, especially their vibrant jewel-toned leaves. Although the changing colors signal that winter is approaching, their seasonal beauty is truly breathtaking.
If you’re searching for a tree nursery near you, Holiday Farms offers a beautiful selection of trees, shrubs, and plants to enhance your landscape. When you’re ready to add vibrant fall color to your garden, visit us and explore our available selection.