Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Fall color is one important criterion of landscape plant selection and gives a whole new landscape dimension and focus. Color makes the difference between nondescript leaves falling on the ground and a spectacular show for your enjoyment. Not all trees show beautiful fall color. Some turn brown prior to falling while others lose their leaves so quickly that fall color cannot truly be appreciated. The maples have some of the most spectacular fall colors. Norway maples, our most common street trees, show bright yellow autumn colors. Hedge maples also have a yellow fall color as do box elders and silver maples. Sugar maples give the New England, New York and the rest of the Appalachian Mountains their famous brilliant yellows, oranges and reds. There are some sugar maples in northern Utah but they are not common. It is only a satisfactory tree for well-drained, loamy soils. Japanese maples develop colors similar to sugar maples, but the trees are much smaller and lack the dramatic effect of the much larger trees. Nevertheless they are very dramatic specimen plants if used in the right areas. Vine maples turn red if the temperature drops suddenly. Red maples are becoming more common in our area. it is our plant of the week for this week. Most of the named varieties have spectacular autumn color as their name suggests. Selections such as “Autumn Radiance,” “October Glory” and “Red Sunset” give a hint to just how beautiful these trees can be in the fall. The outstanding performers in our mountains are bigtooth and the Rocky Mountain maples. Bigtooth maples have larger leaves and develop yellow, orange and red hues, while the Rocky Mountain maples have smaller leaves and turn bright orange or red. As a group, maples are one of our most beautiful and dependable trees for fall color. Norway maples, our most common street tree produce an abundance of bright yellow leaves. Enjoy them on the trees and then pick up bags full for composting in your garden. Larry A. Sagers Regional Horticulturist Utah State University Extension Thanksgiving Point Office
