Types of Trees That Change Colors

Prunus Genus

• Prunus Kanzan is a species of Japanese flowering cherry tree with both colorful flowers and leaves. The tree, suitable for plantings in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 9, grows to 30 feet, blooming in April. The leaves start out green with a hint of red and bronze. As the spring and summer progress, they change to dark green before turning shades of orange, yellow and bronze.

  Hardy to zone 5, the Sargent cherry (Prunus sargentii) is as tall as 40 feet. The new leaves are purple before morphing to green. Fall colors include yellow, red and orange on this Japanese native, which generates pink flowers in May.

Acer Genus

• The Freeman maple is a hybrid cross of silver maple (Acer saccharinum) and red maple (Acer rubrum), with Jeffers Red being one of the more common forms. Jeffers Red undergoes a striking change from green to shades of orange and scarlet-red come fall. The tree grows to 55 feet in USDA zones 3 through 8.

  October Glory is a cultivar of red maple with a bit less cold hardiness than its parent, growing from USDA zone 4 to warmer zones. October Glory goes from dark green to hues of burgundy and red in fall. It matures to as tall as 50 feet, with an oval form.

Quercus Genus

• The scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea) is a shade tree that turns deep shades of red in autumn. This oak does well in dry, acidic locations from USDA zones 4 through 9. The tree grows between 50 and 70 feet tall, with leaves as long as 6 inches.

  The Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii) has showy fall colors, turning from dark green to colors like red and orange in autumn. Growing to as tall as 80 feet, it is a specimen or shade tree for large landscapes in zones 5 through 9.

Betula Genus

• On a paper birch (Betula papyrifera), the leaves are not alone in changing color. The white bark peels away, according to the Missouri Botanical Garden, to show off inner layers that are orange and brown. The foliage goes from a dark green to yellow. Paper birch is very cold-hardy, growing in USDA zones 2 through 6.

  Green to yellow is the pattern for Betula nigra Cully, a birch with excellent tolerance for warmer climates. It grows into USDA zone 9 and also features a colorful exfoliating bark.