The gorgeous warm colors of fall trees are a bright spot to look forward to each year as the temperatures start to dip. Fill your yard in an explosion of fiery hues with our list of the best trees and shrubs for fall color.
Sugar Maple
This extra-reliable tree that's native to North America makes a stunning statement in the fall. Sugar maple is a fall tree that offers gorgeous red, orange, or yellow end-of-season leaves.
Name: Acer saccharum
Growing Conditions: Sun to shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 70 feet tall
Zones: 4–8
Dogwood
Beautiful just about any time of year, dogwoods are usually planted for their white or pink springtime flowers. But don't overlook the gorgeous purple-red tones their leaves will bring to your fall landscape. Some dogwoods are trees, and some are shrubs, so you can find the best size to suit your landscape.
Name: Cornus spp.
Growing Conditions: Sun to shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 25 feet tall
Zones: 5–8
Chokeberry
This native shrub shines in several seasons. In spring, chokeberry shrubs offer white flowers that look like apple blossoms. Rich red fruits follow in late summer and autumn, and the show finishes in fall with brilliant orange-red foliage.
Name: Aronia arbutifolia
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, but well-drained soil
Size: To 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide
Zones: 4–9
Stewartia
This top-notch small tree looks beautiful throughout the year. Its dark green leaves make a nice foil for its late-summer, white camellia-shaped flowers. In fall, stewartia's leaves turn pretty orange, yellow, and red shades.
Name: Stewartia pseudocamellia
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 40 feet tall
Zones: 5–8
Ginkgo
Slow-growing ginkgo adds grace and valuable shade to any landscape. Its fan-shaped leaves are among the most elegant of any tree. In autumn, they show breathtaking shades of luminous golden yellow. This species is one of the few deciduous fall trees that will drop all its leaves overnight instead of over several weeks.
Name: Ginkgo biloba
Growing Conditions: Sun to shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 100 feet tall
Zones: 4–9
Amur Maple
Another maple that takes on brilliant fall color, Amur maple is a small tree or large shrub (depending on how you prune it) that bears bright red leaves in fall. It can become a bit weedy, as it produces hundreds of seeds each year, so plant it where you can control the seedlings that pop up.
Name: Acer ginnala
Growing Conditions: Sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 25 feet tall
Zones: 3–7
Sumac
An incredibly tough native shrub, sumac provides some of the brightest red color you'll see in autumn. One note, though: While extra-tough and beautiful, sumac is a fast spreader, so it's best to plant it where it has plenty of space.
Name: Rhus typhina
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 15 feet tall
Zones: 3–8
Viburnum
Several members of this big group of shrubs offer bright autumn foliage in warm shades of red. A particularly good viburnum species for fall color is native cranberrybush, named for the eye-catching, edible ruby-red fruits that follow white spring flowers.
Name: Viburnum
Growing Conditions: Sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 15 feet tall
Zones: 2–7
Serviceberry
An easy-to-grow small tree or shrub (depending on how you prune it), serviceberry starts the growing season off with a display of small white springtime flowers. Next, it produces round, berry-like summer fruits that birds and other wildlife relish. Finally, the show concludes with amazing orange and red fall foliage. Even the silvery bark on this native plant looks pretty in winter.
Name: Amelanchier canadensis
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 20 feet tall
Zones: 3–7
Bald Cypress
A "fooled-you" fall tree, bald cypress looks like an evergreen conifer until this large native's needles turn russet-red before dropping, revealing its dramatic architectural shape, which you can enjoy all winter.
Name: Taxodium distichum
Growing Conditions: Sun and moist or wet soil
Size: To 120 feet tall
Zones: 5–10
Sweet Gum
The distinctive star-shaped leaves of sweet gum make it a kaleidoscopic fall tree when they turn red, orange, and burgundy, giving the landscape a carnival feel at the season's end. Just be aware this native tree also produces scads of spiky, round seedpods that can be messy (and prickly for pets and people to walk on) once they drop to the ground.
Name: Liquidambar styraciflua
Growing Conditions: Sun to shade and well-drained soil
Size: To 80 feet tall
Zones: 5–9
Fothergilla
A pretty but underused native shade-loving shrub, fothergilla offers blue-green foliage in spring and summer. Its leaves turn warm shades of gold and orange in fall—and fothergilla has honey-scented springtime flowers.
Name: Fothergilla major
Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 6 feet tall
Zones: 5–8
Virginia Sweetspire
This outstanding native shrub puts on an impressive show for months. In summer, Virginia sweetspire offers fragrant white flowers. Then, in autumn, it develops a rich purple-red leaf color. Also, it's very easy to grow.
Name: Itea virginica
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 10 feet tall
Zones: 5-9
Oakleaf Hydrangea
An excellent native shrub for shade, oakleaf hydrangea offers beautiful clusters of white blooms in summer, then rich burgundy fall foliage.
Name: Hydrangea quericifolia
Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 6 feet tall
Zones: 5–9
Witch Hazel
An eye-catching native shrub for the autumn landscape, witch hazel foliage turns a glowing golden-yellow in fall. As the leaves drop, delightful spidery yellow flowers appear.
Name: Hamamelis virginiana
Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 12 feet tall
Zones: 3–8
Japanese Maple
One of the best plants for adding fall color to shady areas of your yard, Japanese maple turns brilliant shades of red, orange, or yellow at season's end. These small trees even look interesting after the leaves fall, thanks to the architectural shape of their bare branches.
Name: Acer palmatum
Growing Conditions: Shade to part shade and moist, but well-drained soil
Size: To 25 feet tall
Zones: 5–8
Sweet Birch
A graceful native tree in any season, sweet birch features cinnamon-colored, peeling bark and triangular dark green leaves that turn beautiful golden-yellow in fall.
Name: Betula lenta
Growing Conditions: Sun to shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 50 feet tall
Zones: 3–7
Burning Bush
This tough shrub earned its common name because of its autumn hues: In fall, the foliage turns glowing shades of red and pink.
Name: Euonymus alatus
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 20 feet tall
Zones: 4-8
Burning bush has become invasive in some regions of the country, so before planting, check to see if it's a problem in your area.
Smokebush
Named for its plumes of soft, shimmering flowers, smokebush also offers gorgeous foliage. In summer, this shrub's leaves are purple or gold (depending on variety), and in fall, that already colorful foliage turns bold shades of orange and pink.
Name: Cotinus coggygria
Growing Conditions: Shade to part shade and moist but well-drained soil
Size: To 15 feet tall and wide
Zones: 5–8
