Native trees and shrubs for fantastic *Orange fall foliage

by Mackenzie Younger

Sugar maple | Acer saccharum | Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Catskill, NY

1. Sugar Maple

Need a large specimen tree that will bring joy to your heart in the fall? Well sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is the obvious choice! When it comes to selecting sugars maples, we highly recommend using cultivars because they will deliver the orange fall color you're looking for, more so than the true species which can be quite inconsistent. We love ‘Fall Fiesta’ for this reason. This trees fall color ranges from a bright yellowy-orange to a deep redly-orange, making for an outstanding display.

Another great cultivar is ‘Green Mountain' although less consistent in its fall color compared to ‘Fall Fiesta’. ‘Green Mountain’ is a rather hardy sugar maple and better suited for warmer growing zones. Both are great choices and if you have the room, we suggest planting them alongside each other, as well as combing them with other, fantastic, fall foliage producers — like our native red maples (consider cultivars ‘October Glory’ or ‘Sunset’.)

When it comes to planting sugar maple, be aware that it doesn’t do well in coastal areas or in urban environments. This is a tree for larger landscapes or as a lawn specimen.

American smokebush | Cotinus obovatus | photo by Pleasant Run Nursery, NJ

2. American Smokebush

When it comes to knockout fall color, the American Smokebush ‘Cotinus obovatus’ — truly excels. Another common name for this plant is smoketree because of its stature. This rare native is often confused with its Eurasian relative, which often has cultivars with smaller purple leaves and is far more common in the nursery trade.

While the exotic smokebush is nice, it fails in comparison when it comes to the fall foliage of our native species. American smokebush bursts into a range of flame-like colors in autumn with brilliant hues of orange mixed with red, purple and yellow.

This is a wonderfully whimsical plant to have in your landscape. From its smoke like flowers to its awesome end of the season fall coloration, American smokebush will stand out amongst less characteristic shrubs and trees.

We recommend American smoke bush to anyone who wants incredible hues of orange in the fall. It does get large but can easily be cut back and thrives in hot, drier locations. Give it full sun and it will perform beautifully. Plant facing a western exposure and at the end of the day, the setting sun will illuminate smokebush’s leaves and all their magical color.

'Spring Flurry' Serviceberry | Mackenzie's Garden, NY

3. Serviceberries

There are several species of serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.) all of which turn wonderful hues of orange, red and yellow in the fall. That said most Serviceberries leans more towards hues of orange and is a fantastic large shrub / small tree for this purpose.

It's not just the fall foliage which is spectacular about this plant but also its early spring flowers and summer berries that birds adore. Often serviceberry is the first to bloom in their native habitats, long before other trees have even leafed out. Sometimes a month before, only being beaten by pussy willow.

Cultivars that we love are ‘Spring Flurry’ (Amelanchier laevis) and ‘Autumn Brilliance’ (Amelanchier x grandiflora).

If you can find straight species — they are just as rewarding for fall color and a fun ‘rabbit hole to go down’… is to look into the many verities Amelanchier in North America and the subtle but important differences between them just as bloom times and growth habit. Planting a range of this species will increase both the aesthetic and the ecological impact on the landscape.

4. Ohio Buckeye

The Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra) is a rather common tree in the midwest and central Appalachian region but should really be used more in the landscaping industry nationwide because of its many awesome ornamental qualities. These include, but are not limited to, the brilliant pumpkin orange fall foliage!

Ohio Buckeye is one of the first trees to leaf out in spring bringing life to a slowly awakening landscape. Its flowers are wonderful, opening up around the time dogwoods bloom and resemble the more familiar European horse chestnut.

Like its early emerging spring foliage, Ohio buckeye will be one of the first trees to change color in the fall, and loose it leaves. Many people see this early drop as a negative quality but we believe its an asset in the garden because of the incredible orange display the tree put on before. Ohio buckeye leads the ‘fall foliage parade’ and stands out by doing so.

Pin cherry | Prunus pensylvanica | The New York Flower Farm, Ellenville, NY

5. Pin cherry

In the fall, pin cherry, also known as fire cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) erupts into a variety of warm tones, the primary of which being hot orange.

Although not common in the landscaping industry here in the United States, pin cherry has become a hit overseas in countries like Sweden and Norway for its many ornamental qualities and extreme cold hardiness.

These ornimental qualities include:

great fall color
beautiful early spring white flowers
early summer red cherries (that song birds eat)
shinny bronze-colored bark

We recommend the pin cherry to anyone who lives in a more northern state and or in the mountains because of its cold hardiness and its benefit to wildlife. Pollinators and birds adore this plant.

When it comes to planting pin cherry it prefers full sun and enjoys open areas. Consider planting this tree in groups or as a specimen for a small garden. Combine with serviceberry and pussy willow for early spring interest.

Sassafras albidum | Acadia National Park, ME

6. Sassafras

Sassafras albidum is one of the few native plants which has a common name that is the same as its scientific name. This wonderful native tree was once used in soda recipes and to thicken gumbo in places like New Orleans. It's a relative of the spicebush (Lindera benzoin) and like spicebush, it has small yellow flowers in spring and is essential in the reproductive life cycle, as a host plant, for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly.

The fall color tends to vary with the Sassafras, but is often a true orange (when not yellow or red). Sometimes, it's a mix of all three on one plant. Nonetheless, if you want orange in your landscape sassafras is a great option for you!

Although capable of getting large, sassafras is most commonly experienced as a small tree and is suitable for most small tree situations in the landscape. It's a beautiful plant throughout the season and does very well compositionally with other small flowering trees, such as flowering dogwood, eastern redbud, and serviceberry. When used in combination with these trees, its yellow flowers increase the festive feeling of early spring and its fall foliage enhances, and compliments those of its counterparts.

Female sassafrases (the tree is dioecious) will produce berries in late summer / early fall which birds relish and for that reason, in combination with it being the host plant of the spicebush butterfly, we highly recommend sassafras for wildlife gardens.

Staghorn sumac | Rhus typhina | Boothbay, ME

7. Staghorn sumac and aromatic sumac

While all of our native sumacs have great fall color, staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) and aromatic sumac (Rhus aromatica) lean more orange than red, compared to other species.

Staghorn sumac is fire-like in color, with a mix of yellow and orange, while aromatic sumac is a mix of pumpkin orange and red. These two sumacs, like all sumacs, will spread overtime, making them ideal for meadows but not great for smaller backyards, especially if planted in the ground. Staghorn sumac can become impressively tall while aromatic sumac remains rather short. Some cultivars of aromatic sumac such as ‘low grow’ barley grow over a foot tall and make a great ground cover.

We recommend using ‘low grow’ aromatic sumac in mass plantings as a ground cover, especially in sunny somewhat dry areas. While staghorn is best for larger, habitat restoration projects, due to its aggressive nature, it can also be used in large containers and is very charming in creative applications.

Both sumacs are frequented by pollinators when they flower and produce red berries that songbirds love in the winter.

8. Fothergilla

There are two species of Fothergilla native to the United States (F. major and F. gardenii) and both have become quite common in the landscaping trade although, in the wild, they are only found in the deep south. Despite this limited range in the wild, they do very well in cold climates and are a great edition to any garden.

Forthergilla has delightful white fragrant flowers in spring and some of the best fall color in the autumn! The only reason why this plant isn’t higher on our list, is its extreme variability in hot colors — sometimes an incredible orange, sometimes a bold red and yellow, or all three at once.

We recommend lining pathways with fothergilla or placing it by a door or window to experience its fragrance!

Appalachian Mountain camellia | Stewartia ovata | Mackenzie's Garden, NY

9. Mountain Stewartia

Mountain Stewartia, also known as mountain camellia (Stewartia ovata) is the rarest plant on this list, not only in the wild but also in the nursery trade. This small flowering tree naturally occurs within a limited range through the southern Appalachian Mountains. If you're lucky, you might spot one in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee!

This incredible tree flowers in early summer with camellia like flowers, which are truly exquisite and unlike most other native species, although most similar to the Franklinia tree, another oddity in North America. These plants have far more relatives in Asia than they do in the U.S. and it's their Asian counterparts that appear more frequently in gardens.

We currently have a Mountain Stewartia growing in the town of Ellenville, in upstate New York, at The New York Flower Farm (not yet open to the public) which is zone 6, and at the elevation of 1700ft, so it can handle fairly cold climates. That said, it's almost impossible to find at nurseries which is really unfortunate because it is an ideal garden specimen, with its unique flowers, lovely bark and vivid orange fall foliage! In fact, this fall it put on the best display of orange fall foliage in the landscape.

So if you can find one of these magnificent and rare native trees, we suggest you plant it in partial shade with rich, organic soil. Eastern exposures with morning light are preferred and consider a location where the flowers and fall foliage can really be appreciated, up close.

10. Bald cypress

The bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) is one of the most iconic trees of the deep south. It's also one of the longest living trees in the eastern United States (2000 years +) handling extreme heat and flooding, cold climates and drought. It's a tough, prehistoric, deciduous conifer, that in late fall and early winter, turns shades of orange and bronze. Yes, shades of orange, but not bright pumpkin orange like the sugar maple. Nonetheless it's a wonderful hue, which in the south, where fall foliage is limited, really makes a statement.

Bald cypress can be a huge tree and for that reason, it is best suited for large landscapes. It can be grown from Miami up into Maine and used as a street tree or in a park, or along a pond where it will create its iconic ‘knees’. Roots that emerge from the soil and water like little mountains.

We suggest bald cypress for any of situation but feel it is most unique and special when planted along water because of its growing habit in these conditions. Once established they can happily live in several feet of water year around.

Other great orange, fall foliage natives include American Hazelnut and the American beech tree.