13 Trees With Red Leaves in Spring: Beautiful Types For You

Trees with red leaves in spring will keep a lot of eyes fixed on your yard because their beauty is mostly second to none.

These trees also come with beautiful flowers to add extra beauty to the leaves – such as the Japanese maple tree and the Norway maple – so you should consider growing them.

To know the most beautiful tree that you can grow in your yard, read this article.

A Variety of Trees With Red Leaves in Spring

1. Japanese Maple Tree

The acer palmatum is a popular maple of the Sapindaceae family and varieties from this species include the popular crimson queen. These Japanese trees are very popular because of their red leaves and they will surely give your garden a red look. Note that the leaves change color according to the season. 

To successfully grow these trees, you need to protect them from strong winds, especially when young. Ensure that the soil is well-drained yet consistently moist. This means that it must never be too wet or dry. Also, if you are growing in a very cold region, you should protect your young trees from frosts so that they do not die.

2. Red Maple Tree

When looking for trees with red leaves, you’d see a lot of maple trees or trees in the Acer genus, as they come with a lot of red leaves. The acer rubrum tree is one of those popular trees with red foliage. What’s very special about this tree aside from its red leaves is that its flowers form before the leaves in spring. The flowers are red as well, so you’ll see a brilliant red display of colors in your yard.

When growing maples, you’ll do a lot of cleaning and clearing, as they shed a lot of leaves. Even if you do not want to remove all the leaves (which is not recommended), you must try to clean the leaves that are very close to the root crown of the tree so that the leaves do not block air from reaching the roots.

3. Forest Redbud

The award-winning Cercis canadensis ‘forest pansy’ tree should be in your garden. This multiple-stemmed tree comes with pea-like flowers that grow before the leaves in spring. The leaves come in a variety of colors ranging from red to pink, so you want to select an individual with the right tone of color for you.

Pansies are easy to care for and do not require a lot of space, so they are popular amongst tree growers. You just need to make sure that the soil is rich in organic nutrients. You should focus on potassium and phosphorus for these trees when they mature. When they are young, give them a general-purpose fertilizer or one richer in nitrogen.

4. Norway Maple

This beautiful maple which is also referred to as the ‘crimson king maple’ is one with dark red leaves that you’d love to see in your yard. The tree grows tall and gives your yard a unique appearance due to its dark leaves, so if you want the eyes of people to be fixed on your yard, here’s a tree that you should grow.

It is also fairly easy to grow so long as you ensure that it gets consistent watering and fertilizing. The leaves of this deciduous tree turn darker or brownish as fall approaches and fall off the tree before winter.

If you like, you can leave the leaves on the ground so that they can help to insulate the roots when winter comes. However, keep them at a considerate level and not too close to the root crown.

5. Red Silver Flowering Crabapple Tree

These beautiful crab apples are small trees that turn red in fall though some red leaves appear in spring. As the name suggests, their flowers are silver in color. What will thrill you is that the flowers can cover the tree and give it a silvery or metallic appearance. If you want your yard to have a touch of red or silver, here’s the perfect tree for you.

If you’d love to grow this tree, you need to buy good pesticides to repel pests from the tree. If you do not get the pests off the tree, they will destroy the fruits. Also, this tree needs six or more hours of sunlight daily, so ensure that you grow it in a well-lit location. If your trees have stunted growth, you should check their light exposure.

6. Smoke Tree

Here’s a very beautiful tree that you want to grow. The Cotinus coggygria tree is called the “smoke tree” because of its cluster of flowers that look like red smoke. The leaves of these trees are red, especially in early spring and fall, so they are often grown as ornamentals. If you need a touch of red in your yard, here’s the tree for you.

While they can grow in full sun, smokes prefer partial sunlight so that their leaves and flowers do not get burnt from the sun. Remember to fertilize them with phosphorus-rich fertilizer so that they can maintain the brilliant colors of their leaves and flowers. Also, do not overwater the trees so that you can prevent fungi from attacking them.

7. Red Robin

Here’s a very beautiful tree with red and shiny leaves. It does not matter how little your yard space is, you can grow robins, as they can even grow in small pots. You just need to look for dwarf varieties. Looking at the glossy red leaves, you’d love to grow this beautiful tree, right?

When growing robins, you need to mulch them properly so that the soil never runs completely dry. Mulch also helps to stabilize the temperature of the soil. To feed them, you can use a general-purpose fertilizer, compost, or any organic fertilizer rich in nitrogen.

8. Purple Leaf Plum Tree

Purple leaf or cherry plums turn red in spring, though some varieties stay red throughout the year. They are usually dark red or purple-red and have light pinkish flowers to beautify your yard.

These beautiful trees are strictly ornamental and grow quickly, so you should consider growing them. As ornamental trees, they are not grown for their fruits, so you should not eat them (though they are not toxic).

The soil of your plums should be humus-rich and slightly acidic. Loam soil is preferable, but the trees will do well in sandy loam. Just make sure that the soil has a lot of readily available organic nutrients for your plums.

9. Sugar Maple

The acer saccharum tree is special and popular because it’s used to make maple syrup. It is also popular for its bright red leaves. However, its leaves are brightest in the fall months. This does not mean that the tree is not beautiful in spring. It is a beautiful tree with multiple uses in your yard.

While this tree is fairly easy to grow, do not grow it in dry soil. When the drought of summer comes, make sure that you regularly water your maples so that they do not lose their beautiful leaves or get stunted growth due to stress. Also, make sure that the soil stays nutrient-rich by feeding your trees occasionally.

10. Black Gum Tree

If you’re a fan of art, you’d love the Nyssa sylvatica tree because its wood brings the most beautiful art to life. The wood can receive extra detail from carving tools, as it does not break quickly. Also, the tree bark easily holds paint, so the tree is usually sorted for by artists. This tree Is aesthetically pleasant and has a very fast growth rate, so growing it is a good idea.

You want to plant these gums far away from patios and sidewalks because they drop slippery fruits that can be an eyesore. When the tree drops its fruits, you should remove them quickly so that they do not attract insects and other pests to your yard. So long as you can keep your gums clean, you won’t face many problems when growing them.

11. American Sweetgum

Here are trees with green leaves that turn red, especially in the fall months. If you are looking for a very beautiful and majestic tree for your yard, here’s a perfect one for you. The name of the tree comes from its resin which native Americans chewed just like gum because of its sweet taste. It is an easy-growing tree with very little to no problems so long as you are growing it in the right zones.

12. October Glory

Here are beautiful trees with red leaves in summer and fall, especially fall. These fast-growing trees are grown because of their beautiful leaves and how easy they are to care for. You just need to make sure that the soil is loamy and the tree has access to full sun.

13. Copper Beech

Copper, European, or common beeches are trees with red leaves in autumn. Their fall foliage is what gives them their beauty, as the leaves are dark red. If you’d love to grow these trees, grow them in soil that drains water quickly. Do not grow them in waterlogged areas.

Conclusion

These trees are beautiful indeed.

Before you go search for them, remember these points from the article:

• Some beautiful red-leaved trees are maples, crabapples, gums, and beeches.
• When looking for trees with red leaves, starting with maples is a great idea, as they mostly grow red leaves.
• Most of these trees are grown for ornamental purposes, so you must be sure that their fruits are edible before you try to eat them.
• When you select the red-leafed tree that you’d like to grow, ensure that you study its growth requirement so that you can grow it without problems.
• Just in case your trees are not growing as productively as you think they should, check their light exposure and access to nutrients and moisture in the soil.

Awesome trees, right? Congratulations, as you are ready to start planting. Also, if you love the red color, here are 15 shrubs with red flowers to add to your garden!