Autumn Blaze Maple Trees

At maturity, Autumn Blaze maples will reach about 50 feet tall by 40 feet wide, with a rounded crown. Fortunately, maturity comes relatively quickly: their fast-growing nature is one of their best qualities. The branching pattern is dense and ascending.

They come into their own in fall, as their fall color is a vivid brilliant orangy-red.

How is this hybrid better than a plain old red maple tree (Acer rubrum)? Well, for one thing, homeowners often become impatient with newly-planted red maples, which don't look like much for several years. The cross with silver maple seems to have injected a dose of vigor into the tree, without compromising the natural strength of red maple branches (a strength lacked by silver maples).

I offer much more information about trees used to inject autumn color into a yard. You can see my list here:

Fall Foliage Trees

Of the specimens on this list of fall-foliage standouts, sumac will likely be the shortest; it is classified as a shrub, although staghorn sumac can grow to be rather tall. Sumac tends also to be the earliest (September) on the list to assume its fall foliage.

By contrast, oak and beech tend to be two of the tardiest in putting on their fall colors. Also, my own sweetgum tree often makes me wait until November before it becomes colorful. If you don't want the job of having to clean up the gumballs of a sweetgum, select a non-fruiting cultivar.

Along the same lines, most people prefer to grow the male Ginkgo biloba, because the fruiting female can be very messy!

Dogwood and shagbark hickory are two of the more versatile specimens on the list. Both "flowering" and "Japanese" dogwoods are better known for their spring flowers than their fall foliage, although they would be well worth growing for the latter, alone. Meanwhile, hickory provides not only a golden fall foliage but also its namesake nuts.