Here in the Pacific Northwest, hints of autumn are in the air and in our fields. Shorter days begin with cool, marine layer-misty mornings that give way to warm sunny afternoons. And in our fields, container yard, and local landscapes – green leaves give way to the first hints of fall color.
If you’re hankering to be the first on the block to hop aboard the fall color express train, these trees are great candidates for bringing early fall color to your landscape. Your local garden center is likely to have these time-tested varieties in stock, ready for fall planting.
Flame Maple
Acer ginnala ‘Flame’
At the head of the fall color train is this hardiest of maples. Hailing from the Amur Valley of northern China, this adaptable species has proven hardy through USDA Zone 2 and performs well in warmer climates, too.
Flame is a seed source selection, chosen for improved form and consistent fall color. Its slender, medium-green leaves of summer are fine-textured and turn brilliant orange-red to deep red in autumn. Typically grown as a low-branched or multi-stem tree, specimens are very interesting in form because of their spreading branch pattern. They grow to a mature height and spread of approximately 20’ x 20’.
Sensation Box Elder
Acer negundo ‘Sensation’
Trifoliate leaves emerge coppery red in springtime and mature to deep green before turning brilliant red orange in early autumn. A shapely and tough tree, this seedless male selection of a rather nondescript North American native species features slower, more controlled growth and better branch habit than its seedling kin.
Discovered by nurseryman Warren Carnefix more than 50 years ago near an abandoned homestead in western Idaho, it has certainly lived up to the name he gave it upon seeing it while driving on a remote country road. Growing to a height and spread of 30’ x 25’, it has proven over the years to be an adaptable, heat and drought tolerant urban tree that’s hardy through USDA Zone 4b.
Redpointe® Maple
Acer rubrum ‘Frank Jr.’
Among the earliest of red maples to color in autumn, this superior selection of the widely planted native species is distinctive for its rich, dark green, heat-tolerant summer foliage that turns to brilliant red in autumn. Its upright, broadly pyramidal form and adaptability to urban growing conditions make it a natural choice for street tree plantings and cityscapes.
Ease of care in the nursery and in the landscape, plus tolerance of heat, cold, drought and varied soils (including those of higher pH levels) have helped it to become our best-selling tree since its introduction in 2006. Height and spread are approximately 45’ x 30’ after 30 years in an average urban landscape setting.
Sun Valley Maple
Acer rubrum ‘Sun Valley’
Here’s a cultivar that takes fall color to a new level of brilliance when its leaves turn from dark green to bright red early in autumn. It develops a very uniform, densely branched, oval as it grows to a mature height and spread of about 40’ x 35’.
Developed and introduced by the U.S. National Arboretum, this seedless male cultivar is the result of controlled crosses between Red Sunset® Maple and Autumn Flame Maple. Adaptable to a wide range of soil conditions, it has earned praise for its performance in diverse locations across the continent including Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, California, Michigan, Maryland and Oregon. See USNA fact sheet for details.
Brandywine Maple
Acer rubrum ‘Brandywine’
Notable for deep red fall color and proven performance in southern climates, this U.S. National Arboretum can be found near the middle of the fall color train. Resulting from a 1982 cross of Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’ and A. rubrum ‘Autumn Flame, it sports brilliant red-purple autumn color.
A good companion for the earlier-coloring Sun Valley Maple, it begins coloring in mid-autumn and shines bright for two or more weeks. Its dark green leaves maintain their fresh appearance through the hot summer months and resist the feeding of potato leafhopper. This seedless male selection grows in a moderately columnar fashion as it develops a broadly oval to rounded shape. Mature height and spread are approximately 40’ x 30’. See USNA fact sheet for details.
Skyline® Honeylocust
Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Skycole’
If you fancy yellow autumn color on your fall color train, Honeylocusts are a good choice. Our top selling cultivar and the most widely planted of the Honeylocusts, this “oldie but goodie” is an ideal street tree for many urban settings and a fine landscape tree. Upright spreading branches create an arching canopy that provides light, filtered shade for city streets and residential yards.
Small, compound leaflets create a minimum of leaf litter in autumn. Their tolerance of heat, cold, drought, soil compaction and other environmental challenges make Honeylocusts a versatile choice among shade trees. Its tolerance of various environmental challenges and excellent form make it an enduring favorite since its introduction by The Cole Nursery Co. of Ohio in 1957.
Gardeners! Please note that our nursery is strictly wholesale. To purchase these and other trees grown by our nursery, please use our Retailer Locator to find sources of JFS trees near you.
