Quite a few of the rose family members are sources of good fall color. These include the following.


Black Cherry

Black cherry is a source of yellow to red fall color. The large tree is fast growing. It is native to the East westward to Texas.

The fragrant white blooms, ½ inch across, emerge in the spring. Forming long pendant clusters, these can have a slightly unpleasant scent.

The black fruits are tart. This plant is sometimes called chokecherry.

Animals are poisoned by the wilted foliage. There is great demand for black cherry timber.

In the wild, the tree can reach 90 feet in height, but is usually smaller..


Hall Crab

Hardy to zone 3, this crab has yellow and red fall foliage. This tree or shrub is nearly 20 feet in height. The young branches and stems are purple.

The leaves are shiny. The blooms, 1 ½ inch across, are dark rose. The flower stalks and the fruits, 1/3 inch across, are also purple..


Yoshino Flowering Cherry

Yoshina flowering cherry is a source of red or orange color in the fall. This species is well suited to the South because it can withstand high humidity and heat.

The graceful, rounded spreading tree is nearly 40 to 50 feet in height. Hardy to zone 5, this bears fragrant single pink to white blooms, depending on the cultivar.

The flowers form clusters of five or so. The blooms appear mostly before the leaves, but occasionally with the leaves.

There is a weeping cultivar. Introduced in the 1900s, this tree is part of the Washington D.C. collection of cherry trees in the Tidal Basin.


European Mountain Ash

European mountain ash is also called rowan tree. This grows to be 20 to 50 feet in height. Hardy to zone 2, it provides red fall color.

The plant has been grown in America since the Colonial Era. The showy vivid red fruits are borne in clusters. The plant has naturalized in some locations.

The blooms are ½ inch wide. These appear in terminal compound clusters that are six inches wide. Many cultivars of this are available, including ones with yellow fruits or finely cut leaflets.


Snowberry Mountain Ash

Snowberry mountain ash has leaves that turn red in the fall. The plant is named for the white fruits, which are mostly white. However, sometimes these can have a slight pinkish tinge.

These put on quite a show for fall. This mountain ash is very early flowering with the flowers appearing a couple weeks before those of the other mountain ashes. The small open headed tree is 30 feet tall tree.

Hardy to zone 5. The yellow fruits can have pink tinges. These are borne on red stalks.