No garden is complete without maples when it comes to knock-your-socks-off fall colors.

Maple trees, with their five-pointed leaves and vivid colors in the fall are wonderful additions to any yard. These terrific trees come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors. Be sure to find one that’ll look great in your yard. And,

Here are some of my favorites for year-round interest:

Red maple: A classic shade tree that grows up  to 60 feet tall. It has red flowers in spring. Its green summer leaves turn bright red or orange in fall. It has silvery gray bark in winter. Zones 3 to 9.

Of all the maple varieties, red maple is the first one to indicate fall’s approach with its cluster of flowers and change in the color of the leaves. The fall colors include yellow, yellow-green and shades of orange and red.Red maples are not very fussy about the type of soil they grow in: sandy loam to clay, suits them just fine.

There are many species of red maple, all offering different characteristics, but one of my favorite is the October Glory Maple tree.These maples retain their leaves later in the season than other deciduous trees, providing a longer time span to enjoy their fiery display.

If you are considering adding maples to your yard, consider the October Glory. It is one of the “reddest” red maple trees available! Combine that with easy maintenance, versatility and the ability to flourish in a variety of soils, moisture levels, and sun amounts, and you have the perfect tree.

Japanese maple.  Growing only 15 feet tall, this spectacular small tree offers light green spring and summer leaves. They turn bright yellow in the fall and glowing red in winter. Zones 6 to 9.

Japanese maples are slow growing trees that require light shade and moist soil. They have the most amazing fall color foliage: yellow, bronze, purple to red fall color, and red to purple colored flowers

A popular variety of Japanese Maple is Bloodgood. In spring and summer the palm-shaped leaves are a deep wine color, in autumn they change to a fiery crimson.

When mature it will be about twenty feet tall and about twenty feet wide.

Another popular  variety is hardy Red Laceleaf.  It is a striking maple tree at any time of the year. Red Laceleaf has lacy foliage that creates a waterfall effect with the branches cascading in layers to the ground.  Its lacy deep red leaves turn to a vivid scarlet in the fall.

The great looking maples offer incredible look to your yard and now is a great time to plant them.

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Yours truly for a great garden with trees, flowers, berries and veggies

Polly – Organic Gardener