By Jim Midcap
University of Georgia

Fall has slowly slipped up on us. The nights are suddenly cooler, the days are shorter and recent rains have refreshed our woods and landscapes. And the fall leaf season is just around the corner.

With cool nights, bright days and adequate moisture, the turning of the leaves could be spectacular. While we're admiring all the reds, oranges and yellows, we should be planting our own fall color.

Fall is the perfect time to plant young trees while you're enjoying the spectacular fall leaves. Our nurseries and garden centers stock up on a variety of trees for fall planting.

Try these selections at home

Here are some trees that offer outstanding fall color. Some are readily available. Others will be harder to find.

The trident maple is a handsome, tough tree with an upright, oval shape. Its leaves are pest-free, lustrous dark green and three-lobed. The foliage changes in fall to a rich yellow and red.

The bark is a striking gray to orange-brown that exfoliates. These plants withstand drought and infertile soils. Reaching 25 to 35 feet tall, they're hardy throughout the state.

Red maple is a swamp native that grows 40 to 60 feet tall. Young trees are pyramidal, becoming rounded to irregular at maturity. The reddish spring flowers are followed by bright red fruit.

The smooth, gray bark is attractive. Fall leaves develop into glorious yellows and reds. Named selections are widely available, with "October Glory" and "Autumn Blaze" offering reliable color.

Many native hickories put on a spectacular show year after year. They're seldom available at nurseries because they're hard to transplant. You may want to collect seeds and start your own trees on the edge of the woods.

Hickory leaves turn brilliant yellow to golden in the fall. The leaves and nuts are a little messy, and the trees grow slowly. Most grow in deep, moist, well-drained soils as well as on dry, upland sites.

Spicy fragrance a bonus

The elegant katsura tree is pyramidal to start with and becomes an upright oval form with age. The leaves mature to blue-green and turn a rich yellow to apricot in the fall. As an added bonus, the falling leaves give off a spicy fragrance.

The brown, shaggy bark provides year-round interest. There are no serious insect or disease problems. However, the katsura tree requires moisture during droughts to prevent early leaf drop. The trees grow 40 to 60 feet tall and are hardy statewide.

American yellowwood is an uncommon native tree that's not widely sold. Trees are low-branching with broad, rounded crowns. The white spring flowers produce a spectacular show but may bloom only in alternate years.

The larger branches and trunk are smooth and gray. Yellowwood makes an excellent medium-sized 30 to 50 feet tall specimen tree. They're hardy throughout the state.

Sourwood is one of our best native trees for fall color. It's delicately pyramidal with drooping branches. Young leaves mature to a lustrous dark green and turn red to maroon in the fall.

The white flowers come in 4- to 10-inch panicles in June and July. Sourwood is great for naturalizing native sites in sun or partial shade. The trees reach 25 to 35 feet tall and do best in northern Georgia.

Don't buy females

The ginkgo is old, its unique, fan-shaped leaves embedded in the fossil record. It's very slowly becoming established. Young plants are gaunt and open but become full and dense with age. It becomes a mature specimen when the bright green leaves turn a brilliant, clear yellow in the fall.

The leaves suddenly will cascade to the ground in a single day. Buy male trees when possible. Females produce fruits that develop a rancid odor as they mature.

These trees and many others can brighten your fall landscape. Be sure to select trees adapted to your site to ensure the success of your planting project.