Best Trees for Fall Foliage in Dallas

Like most around town, you are probably enjoying the beautiful fall foliage of the trees around Dallas. From the deep burgundy colors of the Red Oaks to the yellows and orange colors of the Sweetgum trees. It's a favorite time of year for many people that leads us right into the holiday season. 

If you are thinking about planting some trees between now and spring (which is a good time to do so or the health of the tree), we wanted to offer up a list of the best trees for fall foliage in Dallas. Here they are in no particular order:

Red Oak Trees

Red Oak (Quercus shumardii) trees are one of the classic and stately trees in the Dallas area and provide a wonderful range of colors from deep red and maroon to dark oranges. They are a large scale shade tree and provide a wonderful framework to any residential property.

Red oaks can produce a wide variety of deep red colors in the fall.

Sweetgum Trees

Sweetgum trees (Luqidambar styraciflua) are another brilliant showstopper in the fall with an often wild range of colors from bright yellow to deep reds and oranges. They grow in a more vertical shape an are often used for lining boulevards and parkways. These do produce the pesky spiked balls but consider the fruitless variety to eliminate this issue. 

Sweetgum tree with a brilliant red and orange color mix. 

A close up view of the vibrant colors of the fall leaves of the Sweetgum tree. 

Cedar Elm Trees

Another traditional (and a bit under used) native Texas tree is the Cedar Elm (Ulmus crassifolia) . This tree provide a bit more rustic texture and smaller leaf size that turn yellow in the fall before shedding. 

Cedar Elm trees along the lakeside in Highland Park.

Cedar Elms turn a bright yellow in the fall. 

River Birch Trees

Another tree that could certainly be planted more around Dallas, is the River Birch (Betula nigra 'Dura heat'). This slightly smaller scale tree also produces a bright yellow color in the fall that goes along nicely with it's very interesting bark texture. 

River Birch trees showing a vibrant yellow color in the fall. 

A closer view of the leaf color of the River Birch in the fall. 

Chinese Pistache Trees

The Chinese Pistache (Pistachia chinensis) is another tree that could be used more around Dallas. This tree is rather fast growing and has a wonderful leaf texture that produces color in yellows, oranges and reds. 

A Chinese Pistache tree planted along a street with bright yellow and orange colors. 

This Chinese Pistache has produced a stunning red color. 

A Few Other Trees to Consider....

Japanese Maples

Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood') is a wonderful ornamental scale tree that produces a deep, rich burgundy color in the fall. 

Japanese Maples planted in a row create a great contrasting color for most stone materials used.

October Glory Maples

Another maples that packs a punch in the fall is the October Glory Maple (Acer rubrum 'October Glory').. These maples often provide some of the most vivid splashes of color around residential neighborhoods. The only drawback is that the visual show is rather short and they tend to drop their colorful leaves at the first taste of cold weather or a stiff wind. The 'Autumn Flame' is another similar variety to try out.

You can hardly miss the stunning show of color provided by the October Glory Maples in the fall. 

Just a few of our favorite trees for fall color around the Dallas area. Hope you enjoy them while the show lasts. Happy fall.