Sugar Maple showing the variation in fall colour.
Amur maple is a small tree (rarely over 20 feet) that goes seriously red in fall.
Ussurian Pear goes orange and red in fall. And lots of white flowers in early spring too.
Diablo Ninebark is this colour all summer too.
Evans cherry goex a fiery mix of orange and red.
Even our poplar forests add colour. We don't pay attention to it because there is so much yellow.
Mustang Cherry Plum goes a deep red, and keeps those leaves most years until snow fall.
These are all poplar leaves, caught in their descent on the branches of a spruce, but even here there's substantial variation.
My book say that Bur oak has only nondescript fall colour. I don't agree.
Common dogwood goes burgundy in the fall, then after the leaves drop, all the twigs are a dark red all winter.
I was pleased that this cultivar of mountain ash goes a lurid mix of reds and oranges.
Chokecherry -- the native type, not the purple leaf type.
Hotwings maple. Leaves can go anywhere from a burnt orange to a pink/orange colour. Seed wings of the the 'helicopters' turn red in early summer and stay red until after the leaves drop.
Fall Colour
You CAN have something besides yellow
Autumn is the season of endings, of preparing for winter's sleep. Want to go out with a bang of colour? This is the right place.
Yellow
The poplar go yellow. Whoop-ti-do. It's a blah dirty yellow. But sometimes poplar have red or pink tones. Not sure why. One poplar, however is noteworthy. Hill. It's about two weeks later than the other poplar in spring, and tries to make up for in fall. When all the other poplars have dropped their leaves, Hill still hangs on. On top of that, the newest leaves near the top and on the tips, stay green and postpone fall.
The birches are noteworthy in a different way. Their yellow is a clear, bright yellow. A yellow that makes you feel clean and bright just looking at it.
Purple & Burgundy
Ninebark 4-6 feet. Diablo and Centre Glow, and Amber Jubilee. Not really fair. These two are purple most of the time. And Diablo is so dark it's not much colour at all. Amber Jubilee is brighter, being a mix of purple, orange, and yellow most of the summer. Goes to more red in the fall.
Dogwood About 5 feet high. Clusters of white flowers through summer, burgundy leaves in fall, Red twigs in winter. Spreads slowly by suckers from the base. Control with mowing. Tolerates being browsed by deer. Bluish white berries that birds love.
Pears Fall colour can sit on the fence between red and burgundy.
Red
Amur Maple 10-12 feet. Can be trained to tree form or hedge form. Bright red leaves in fall. New leaves are red when they first open too.
Hotwings Maple Small tree. Seed leaves are bright red as they ripen, then go brown in late fall. Meantime the leaves go deep red.
**Native High Bush Cranberry 10 feet x 5 feet. Small white flowers in spring, dark green three-lobed leaves that turn bright red in fall. Edible berries that do taste much like cranberries, but sweeter.
Bur Oak Leaves go a dark dusty red, although color is variable from year to year. Leaves hang on very late.
Blueberries Leaves turn bright red and orange.
Orange & Pink
Native Chokecherry 10 feet x 4 feet. Somewhat vase shaped, so mowing near the base is easy. Prune to make it get thicker. Nice green leaves, that turn pink and orange in the fall. Small black berries that can be used for jam, or left for the birds.
Native Pincherry Similar to chokecherry, but with smaller red berries. Not as susceptible to black knot fungus.
Sea Buckthorn 6-9 feet. Leaves are nothing special, but Buckthorn has a hoard of orange berries.
Orange & Red
Brookred plum
Sugar Maple Color variable from year to year, and from leaf to leaf on the same tree.
Romance Cherries Dwarf cherries, about 7 feet tall. Produce sweet and sour cherries. I have 3 types.
Wild Rose Red leaves that let the light through like stained glass windows.
Hedge Cotoneaster 5-7 feet. Nice red and orange fall colour. Leaves don't change together, but one at a time. Some years you get a mix of red, orange and green leaves all at the same time.
Nanking Cherry Variable color. Some years only brown. Most years orange.
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