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7 Trees for Red Leaves Throughout the Seasons

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A tree with stunning red leaves is the perfect addition to any yard or garden. Red leaves add a certain appeal to any home, park, or commercial building, and they’re highly sought after by property owners everywhere.

If you’re looking for a beautiful tree with red leaves for your property, there are plenty of fantastic choices. Some trees have red leaves all year; others change colors based on the season to give more variety.

Finding the right tree for any property contributes a lot to the overall look and feel of a place.

Whether you’re looking for something lovely to look at through the kitchen window or need different trees to take your landscaping to the next level, here are seven amazing trees for red leaves throughout the seasons.

Trees with All-Year Red Leaves

When most people think of trees with rich red leaves all year, they likely imagine pops of color shining through the typical green.

Here are some of the trees with red leaves for every season.

The Japanese Maple

Close-up of bright red branches of Japanese maple

The Japanese maple tree is one of the most popular trees with red leaves anywhere. It’s a smaller tree, so it doesn’t take up a lot of space.

You should expect to pay a premium for these trees because they’re in high demand. The lovely red leaves are commonly found in Japanese gardens and, over the years, have spread to other parts of the world.

One of the things people enjoy most about Japanese maples is that they’re not very tall. A typical tree will grow to around 25 feet tall at most, with some decorative cultivars only reaching 4 feet.

Japanese maples don’t require a lot of upkeep, and they’ll thrive in a variety of soil types.

The ‘Red Silver’ Flowering Crabapple

flowering crabapple tree enveloped flowers growing on the shore of the pond

For people looking for something larger, the ‘Red Silver’ flowering crabapple tree is a great option. These trees have larger canopies with medium leaves.

These trees grow beautiful flowers in the spring and fruit during summer.

Though they’re not the tastiest apples in the world, some people make preserves out of them before they hit the ground.

‘Royal Burgundy’ Japanese Cherry

Closeup view o flower cherry blossoms or prunus serrulata

Royal Burgundy’ trees have light-pink leaves and grow up to 20 feet tall.

Typically, ‘Royal Burgundy’ tree leaves have a purplish hue to them. They also flower every year, and their flowers are a rich red color that is darker than their leaves.

Prunus serrulata ‘Royal Burgundy’ is the official name for this tree. They need a lot of sunlight and plenty of water to thrive.

The ‘Crimson King’ Norway Maple

Bright Red Summer Foliage of a Norway Maple tree or known as Crimson King against blue sky background in a garden

The kind of trees you plant on your property will depend on your soil type and local weather conditions. For example, some trees will only do better in warmer climates, and others don’t hold up well in the heat.

The ‘Crimson King’ maple is your best bet when you need a tree with red leaves that does just fine in different temperatures. People appreciate these trees because they’re adaptable to different parts of the country, and they have plenty of foliage during the growing season.

Crimson King’ is larger trees than the others on this list and can grow up to 50 feet when fully mature.

In the spring, ‘Crimson King’ maples produce yellow flowers to add more color to their already unique foliage.

Trees with Red Leaves in the Fall

When autumn rolls around, the world changes as tree leaves shift colors and give us all an incredible display. People all over the world hike and drive to take in breathtaking vistas of fall colors with red, yellow, and orange trees.

If you’re lucky, you have the chance to create a bit of fall magic where you live or work by planting trees that change their leaves to red as the seasons change. Here are some of the best trees with red leaves in the fall.

Black Cherry Trees

black cherry tree in blossom

Black cherry trees, or Prunus serontina, are native to North America.

A black cherry tree grows very tall, sometimes reaching as high as 90 feet. During most of the year, their leaves are dark green with ridged edges.

However, when the weather turns, the tree leaves shift from green to yellow and then deep crimson red.

These are terrific statement trees for a front yard because the trunks of black cherry trees aren’t very large in proportion to how large they grow.

Oak Trees

red autumn leafs oak tree

White oaks and black oaks, in particular, turn a beautiful shade of red in the fall. While dozens of kinds of oak trees are found in the United States, these two are incredibly colorful at the right time of year.

Adding oak trees to your property is a good idea because oaks come in different shapes and sizes. You can find the right oak tree to fit in a specific spot without worrying too much about it overgrowing the area.

They’re so common that we know how big they’re likely to grow in most circumstances.

Oak trees take a few years to mature fully. Some of them can get quite large, so they’re not always the best option for small yards or urban areas.

Even if an oak tree doesn’t grow very large, the root system can extend for dozens of feet and upend sidewalks and driveways.

Oaks also grow acorns, which will almost certainly draw squirrels and other animals, depending on where you live.

Japanese Rowans

Sorbus commixta or Japanese Rowan tree

Japanese rowans round out our list today, and they’re one of the most popular choices for trees with red leaves on them. Their leaves have unique shapes, which makes watching them change from green to a lush red so mesmerizing.

Japanese rowans typically grow large berry clusters.

The berries offer quite an advantage to bird and nature lovers who own Japanese rowan trees.

Birds love the berries this tree produces, and when the time is right, you’ll see plenty of birds in your yard trying to grab some.

To top it all off, Japanese rowans produce white flowers at the end of spring that are perfect for bees and other insects that you want in your garden. 

Autumn colorful red maple leaf of Japanese garden from under the maple tree.

Choosing the Right Tree with Red Leaves

Red leaves make a garden or home pop. They draw attention and give your landscaping more color.

By selecting the right kind of tree, you can bask in the beauty of the red leaves for years or even decades.

To better ensure your trees thrive where you live, you should research what types of soil conditions each tree prefers and how much sun they need.

For instance, you may not want to plant a tree that requires a lot of sun if you live in the Pacific Northwest.

Once you nail down the appropriate types of trees, it’s up to you whether you want a tree with red leaves all year or just during the fall.

Frequently, the trees that change colors with the seasons have more vivid colors, though they are fleeting. Trees with red leaves throughout the year are beautiful, but you may not get the same kind of color pop as with other species.

Final Thoughts

If you can, plant a mix of trees that stay red for three seasons and trees that change in autumn, so you always have red and changing colors in your garden. There will always be something new to look at, and it will be a fantastic value add to your home.

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