Advice & Guides 24 August 2026

3 of the Best Trees for Autumn Colour

Bring beautiful autumn colour to your garden with three of our favourites: Liquidambar, Amelanchier and Japanese Maple. Discover which tree is best for your space, from larger gardens to patios and containers.

As summer begins to wind down, our gardens start preparing for one of their most colourful displays. Choosing a tree for autumn colour can bring beautiful shades of gold, orange, red and purple to your garden – often for many years to come.

Autumnal Colour

Late summer planning

Late summer is also a good time to start planning ahead for autumn planting. Here are three of our favourites, whether you're looking for a spectacular feature tree, something wildlife-friendly or a smaller tree for a more compact garden.

autumnal colour

Liquidambar – for spectacular autumn colour

Liquidambar, or Sweet Gum, is hard to beat if autumn colour is your priority. Its maple-like leaves gradually change from green to wonderful shades of yellow, orange, crimson and deep purple as temperatures fall.

Best suited to a sunny position with space to develop, Liquidambar makes a magnificent feature tree in a lawn or larger garden. It is hardy in much of the UK and prefers moist but well-drained soil.

A lovely choice if you want a tree that really marks the changing seasons.

Liquidambar

autumnal colour

Amelanchier ‘Prince William’ – for smaller gardens & wildlife

Amelanchier ‘Prince William’ is a wonderful choice for a smaller garden, offering interest through several seasons without taking over your space.

Clusters of pretty white blossom appear in spring, followed by edible purple-black berries that are also popular with birds. As autumn arrives, the foliage turns beautiful shades of orange, red and crimson.

Compact, hardy and relatively easy to grow, ‘Prince William’ works well as a small specimen tree and is a particularly good choice if you want to combine autumn colour with wildlife value and spring interest.

Amelanchier Prince William

autumnal colour

Coral Bark Japanese Maple – colour beyond the leaves

Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’, commonly known as the Coral Bark Maple, is a Japanese Maple that provides something special in every season.

Its delicate green leaves develop beautiful golden-yellow and orange tones in autumn, but the real treat comes after the leaves fall, when its striking coral-red young stems bring welcome colour to the winter garden.

Relatively compact and slow growing, it's a lovely choice for smaller gardens, sheltered borders and large containers. Plant it somewhere you can appreciate those colourful stems during the quieter winter months.

A beautiful option if you want a tree that offers far more than autumn colour alone.

Coral Bark Japanese Maple

autumnal colour

Which autumn tree is right for your garden?

Think about the eventual size of your tree as well as the colour. Liquidambar is ideal when you have room for a statement tree, Amelanchier offers wonderful multi-season interest in a smaller space, while a Japanese Maple is perfect for adding colour to compact gardens and containers.

Trees aren't only about appearance, either. Choosing trees that provide blossom, berries, shelter or food for wildlife can help create a more diverse and climate-resilient garden.

At Trees Direct, we're a small, family-run nursery, and we're always happy to help you choose a tree that's right for your garden rather than simply the one that looks prettiest today.

Need some advice? Get in touch with our team for friendly, practical help – or explore our trees online and start planning for a colourful autumn. 🌳

Ornamental Trees