The 8 Best New Jersey Trees for Fall Foliage

You don’t have to move to New England for beautiful fall foliage. New Jersey has a ton of beautiful trees that can provide a gorgeous fall view.

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus
Blackgum or Black Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica)
A tall (up to 100 ft) tree with branches that spread horizontally, blackgum leaves crowd near the tips of the branches providing a full look in the fall with bright scarlet fall foliage. Blackgum is also a flowering tree . This tree thrives in zones 3-9 making it ideal for any part of New Jersey where there is full or partial sun, moist and well drained soil, and preferable an acidic soil type.
Sweet Birch(Betula lenta)
Growing up to 70ft tall, the sweet birch if often called a cherry birch or black birch. It’s bark is as beautiful as it’s foliage, some may say with a shiny black brown luster. The leaves turn bright yellow in the fall. This tree thrives in zones 3-7 making it ideal for any part of New Jersey where there is full sun and moist, well drained soil.
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus Florida)
This tree shows up in almost every category we share on this site. Beautiful for spring, fall and and shade, this is one of the most loved tree breeds in all of New Jersey for good reason. This tree grows 20 to 40 ft tall. Along with its long lasting blooms, in the fall it turns a bright and beautiful red. It thrives in hardiness zones 5-9 and does quite well throughout all of New Jersey. It thrives best in partial shade but can be planted in full sun as well.
Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
Growing to a height of 75ft, this beloved native tree is often said to look like a glowing fire in the fall with bright red on the ends and often a transition of orange shades throughout. Thriving in hardiness zones 3-8, this tree does best in full sun with moist, loamy soil.
Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea)
Slightly taller than a red oak, which it is often mistaken for, this tree can grow to 80 ft and sports a deep red color in the fall. It sports a larger acorn than its closest cousin the pin oak. With a hardiness zone of 4-9 it thrives in all areas of New Jersey especially in full sun, though it is also shade tolerant. This is a good choice if you have drier soil as this tree does well in slightly moist to dry soils.
Carolina Silver Bell (Halesia tetraptera)
At 30 to 40 feet in height, this beautiful flowering tree turns a beautiful yellow or yellow green in the fall. It thrives in hardiness zones 4-8, which does cover all areas of New Jersey. It is best in partial shade but can survive in almost any shade in acidic, well drained soil.
Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum)
Another New Jersey favorite, the sugar maple grows to about 75ft tall and offers an absolutely beautiful fall palette with leaves ranging from yellow to orange to red. This tree lives happily in hardiness zones 3-8, making it ideal for any New Jersey yard that offers full sun or partial shade and well drained moist soil.
Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo Biloba)
The Ginkgo Biloba tree is a living ancient. It is one of the oldest species of tree on the planet. Growing to a height of about 50 feet, this tree turns a beautiful golden yellow in the fall. It thrives in hardiness zones 4 -9, and while it is native to China, it does well in all parts of New Jersey but is best in clay or sandy soil. Our NJ mountains often provide the clay soil these trees thrive in. They are best in full sun.