Which shade trees have colorful fall foliage?
Which shade trees have colorful fall foliage?
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. Widely sold Freeman maples include Celebration®, Autumn Blaze®, and Sienna Glen®. 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 varieties. 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.
Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Horticulture and Home Pest News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on . The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.