Question:
Which shade trees have colorful fall foliage?Answer:
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.