Best fall color trees for the Colorado Front Range
Trees that put on a real autumn show on the Front Range — reds, oranges, golds, and purples. Fall color intensity varies with the season, water, and site (and our alkaline soils can mute some species), but each tree below reliably colors up.
107 plants
Birch — Rocky Mountain/WaterBetula occidentalis
Hawthorn — River/DouglasCrataegus douglasii
Maple — BigtoothAcer grandidentatum
Maple — Boxelder 'Sensation'Acer negundo
Maple — Rocky MountainAcer glabrum
Oak — GambelQuercus gambelii
Oak — WavyleafQuercus undulata
Poplar (cottonwood) — HighlandPopulus x acuminata x sargentii
Poplar (cottonwood) — LanceleafPopulus x acuminata
Poplar (cottonwood) — NarrowleafPopulus angustifolia
Poplar (cottonwood) — Plains 'Jeronimus'Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera
Poplar (cottonwood) — Quaking AspenPopulus tremuloides
'Emerald Sunshine'Ulmus propinqua
'Green Vase', 'Village Green'Zelkova serrata
all cultivarsUlmus parvifolia
Ash speciesFraxinus
Baldcypress — Baldcypress – SHAWNEE BRAVE™Taxodium distichum 'Mickelson'
Birch — Asian White – 'Whitespire', DAKOTA PINNACLE®, PARKLAND PILLAR®Betula platyphylla
Birch — European White – 'Gracilis'Betula pendula
Birch — River – HERITAGE®Betula nigra
Callery - 'Bradford'Pyrus calleryana
Coffeetree — Kentucky CoffeetreeGymnocladus dioicus- Coffeetree — Kentucky Coffeetree – ESPRESSO®, DECAF®, SKINNY LATTE™, PRAIRIE TITAN™Gymnocladus dioicus
Dawn Redwood — Dawn RedwoodMetasequoia glyptostroboides
Dogwood — Cornelian Cherry, 'Golden Glory'Cornus mas
Dogwood — Giant – 'June Snow'Cornus controversa
Elm — 'Frontier'Ulmus minor x U. parvifolia
Elm — 'New Horizon'Ulmus japonica x U. pumila 'New Horizon'
Elm — 'Prospector'Ulmus davidiana var. japonica- Elm — ACCOLADE® ('Morton')Ulmus davidiana var. japonica
Elm — American – 'Valley Forge', 'New Harmony', 'Princeton'Ulmus americana
Elm — David, GREENSTONE®, CHOICECITY®Ulmus davidiana- Elm — NORTHERN EMPRESS®Ulmus davidiana var. japonica
Elm — TRIUMPH® ElmUlmus x 'Morton Glossy'
Freeman - 'Armstrong', AUTUMN BLAZE®, AUTUMN FANTASY®, SIENNA GLENN®Acer x freemanii
Ginkgo — Ginkgo/Maidenhair Tree, 'Princeton Sentry', 'Autumn Gold'Ginkgo biloba
Hackberry — Common Hackberry, PRAIRIE SENTINEL®Celtis occidentalis
Hawthorn — 'Toba'Crataegus x mordenensis
Hawthorn — Cockspur var. inermisCrataegus crus-galli
Hawthorn — DownyCrataegus mollis
Hawthorn — English – 'Crimson Cloud'Crataegus laevigata
Hawthorn — Green – 'Winter King'Crataegus viridis
Hawthorn — RussianCrataegus ambigua
Hawthorn — WashingtonCrataegus phaenopyrum
Hickory — PecanCarya illinoinensis
Honeylocust — Thornless Common – IMPERIAL®, SHADEMASTER®, SKYLINE®Gleditsia triacanthos- Honeylocust — Thornless Common – NORTHERN ACCLAIM®Gleditsia triacanthos
- Honeylocust — Thornless Common – SUNBURST®Gleditsia triacanthos
Katsura — Katsura TreeCercidiphyllum japonicum
Larch — European LarchLarix decidua
Linden — 'Glenleven'Tilia x flavescens
Linden — 'Harvest Gold'Tilia cordata x mongolica
Linden — American- American Sentry™, 'Redmond'Tilia americana
Linden — Littleleaf – GREENSPIRE®Tilia cordata
Linden — Silver – 'Sterling Silver'Tilia tomentosa
Maple — Amur/Ginnala – 'Flame'Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala
Maple — Bigtooth – ROCKY MOUNTAIN GLOW®, HIGHLAND PARK®Acer saccharum subsp. grandidentatum
Maple — HedgeAcer campestre
Maple — MiyabeAcer miyabei
Maple — Norway – 'Columnare', 'Crimson King', 'Crimson Sentry', 'Deborah', EMERALD LUSTER®, 'Emerald Queen', 'Fairview', 'Royal Red'Acer platanoides
Maple — NORWEGIAN SUNSET®, CRIMSON SUNSET®, PACIFIC SUNSET®Acer truncatum x platanoides
Maple — PaperbarkAcer griseum
Maple — Red – 'Autumn Flame', REDPOINTE®, RED SUNSET®Acer rubrum
Maple — Sugar – Caddo 'John Pair', 'Autumn Splendor', FLASH FIRE®Acer saccharum- Maple — Sugar – GREEN MOUNTAIN®, LEGACY®, FALL FIESTA®Acer saccharum
Maple — TatarianAcer tataricum- Maple — Tatarian HOT WINGS®Acer tataricum
Mountain-ash — EuropeanSorbus aucuparia- Mountain-ash — European – CARDINAL ROYAL®Sorbus aucuparia
Mountain-ash — Oak LeafSorbus x hybrida
Mountain-ash — Swedish WhitebeamSorbus intermedia
Northern PinQuercus ellipsoidalis
Oak — 'Urban Pinnacle'Quercus macrocarpa 'Urban Pinnacle'- Oak — BurQuercus macrocarpa
Oak — ChinkapinQuercus muehlenbergii
Oak — CRIMSON SPIRE®, STREETSPIRE®Quercus alba x robur
Oak — EnglishQuercus robur- Oak — English 'Columnaris'Quercus robur
Oak — HERITAGE®Quercus robur x macrocarpa
Oak — RedQuercus rubra
Oak — REGAL PRINCE®, KINDRED SPIRIT®Quercus robur x bicolor
Oak — SawtoothQuercus acutissima
Oak — ShingleQuercus imbricaria
Oak — ShumardQuercus shumardii
Oak — Swamp WhiteQuercus bicolor
Oak — Texas RedQuercus buckleyi
Oak — WhiteQuercus alba- Pear — Callery – 'Aristocrat', CHANTICLEER® (aka 'Cleveland Select'), 'Autumn Blaze', 'Redspire'Pyrus calleryana
- Pear — Callery – 'Capital', JAVELIN®Pyrus calleryana
- Pear — Jack'™Pyrus calleryana
Pear — Pear – 'Bartlett', 'Early Gold', 'Golden Spice', 'Luscious', 'Parker', 'Summercrisp'Pyrus
Pear — Ussurian – 'Prairie Gem', 'Mt. Frost'Pyrus ussuriensis
Pin OakQuercus palustris
Poplar (cottonwood) — EasternPopulus deltoides- Poplar (cottonwood) — PRAIRIE GOLD®Populus tremuloides
Poplar (cottonwood) — Upright European, AspenPopulus tremula 'Erecta'
Serviceberry — 'Autumn Brilliance'Amelanchier x grandiflora
Serviceberry — AlleghenyAmelanchier laevis
Serviceberry — SaskatoonAmelanchier alnifolia
Serviceberry — ShadblowAmelanchier canadensis
Silver - all cultivarsAcer saccharinum
TowerPopulus x canescens 'Tower'
Tuliptree — TuliptreeLiriodendron tulipifera- Tuliptree — Tuliptree, EMERALD CITY®Liriodendron tulipifera
White poplarPopulus alba
Yellowwood — American YellowwoodCladrastis kentukea
Zelkova — Japanese Zelkovia 'Musashino'Zelkova serrata