When selecting plants for the home landscape, consider those with excellent fall foliage. Some of the best fall color is produced by the following trees, shrubs, and perennials.
Trees
Shade trees that possess excellent fall foliage include Freeman maple (Acer x freemanii), red maple (Acer rubrum), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), white oak (Quercus alba), red oak (Quercus rubra), and black gum (Nyssa sylvatica). Freeman maples are hybrids of red and silver maples. Their leaves vary from orange to red in fall. The red maple cultivars Red Sunset® and Redpointe™ have dark red foliage in fall. Sugar maples are native to eastern Iowa. Their fall foliage varies from yellow to orange to reddish orange. 'Commemoration,' 'Legacy,' and Fall Fiesta™ are excellent sugar maple cultivars. In fall, the foliage of white oaks is often reddish brown, while red oaks have wine red foliage. Black gums are not widely grown in Iowa. They are somewhat difficult to transplant and prefer moist, well-drained, acidic soils (pH 6.0 to 6.5). However, the black gum possesses outstanding fall foliage. Its foliage is often bright red in fall. Other possibilities include 'Moraine' sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua 'Moraine') with foliage that varies from yellow to red to purple, yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea) with yellow fall foliage, and ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) cultivars 'Autumn Gold' and 'The President' with golden yellow fall color.
Small trees with colorful fall foliage include serviceberry (Amelanchier x grandiflora), American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), and redbud (Cercis canadensis). The fall foliage of serviceberrry and American hornbeam varies from yellow to orange to red, while redbud leaves turn yellow in fall.
Shrubs
Several deciduous shrubs have colorful fall foliage. The winged euonymus or burning bush (Euonymus alatus) has red foliage in fall. The fall foliage of fothergilla (Fothergilla spp.) varies from yellow to orange to red. Common witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) has yellow leaves in fall. In autumn, the foliage of Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) varies from yellow to orange to reddish purple. Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina), and blackhaw viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium) have yellow, red, and reddish purple foliage respectively.
Perennials
Most perennials are grown for their colorful flowers. However, several perennials have attractive fall foliage.
Perennials with yellow foliage in fall include blue star (Amsonia spp.), balloon flower (Platycodon spp.), hosta (Hosta spp.), and monkshood (Aconitum spp.). The sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) and royal fern (Osmunda regalis) also develop yellow fall color. The foliage of pigsqueak (Bergenia cordifolia) often turns burgundy red in fall. The foliage of many hardy geraniums (Geranium spp.) is yellow, orange, red, or purple in autumn.
Several ornamental grasses also have striking fall color. Switchgrass (Panicum spp.) cultivars with colorful fall foliage include 'Rehbraun' (reddish brown), 'Rotstrahlbusch' (burgundy red), and 'Prairie Fire' (wine red). In fall, Miscanthus cultivars 'Purpurascens' and 'November Sunset' have orange-red and golden orange foliage respectively. Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) has yellow to burnt orange fall color. Little bluestem cultivar 'Blaze' has orange to reddish purple fall color, while 'Blue Heaven' develops a burgundy red color in autumn.
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