The baby scarlet's I have had zero fall color last year but last year was a very poor year for nearly all trees/shrubs here due to our drought. The new transplants were especially affected even though I watered regularly. My nuttall/shumard with an identity crisis had great fall color ranging from plum purple the first year to red and yellow the last two years. One of the best fall color trees in my yard. I purchased the plant late summer of 2010 when the leaves were green. I lucked into the nice fall color. Here's another nuttall in my yard that really put on a show last fall. I believe the fall color was enhanced by a severe buckrubbing that disrupted the normal flow of sugars from the leaves down to the roots. The tree is dead now, not because of the buckrub, but because a gopher girdled the root collar and the tree literally fell down overnight and had no roots left... still this shows some of its potential

Tom--and the rest of my advisers here: I forgot to mention that I have some hickories. I have two shellbark, pignut, mockernut, and shagbark. I have two shellbark because I planted the first one on a bit of a ridge where the soil is more shallow, I subsequently read that shellbark hickory is generally a bottomland species. In the spring the buds get very large, and just before and after break, the bud scales, or whatever they are called, grow and become red, so the tree seems to be covered with flowers--beautiful. I have some hickory on my timberland, and one shagbark, especially, is absolutely gorgeous. Looking at this tree, one could imagine it is the most beautiful tree in the world. One problem here is they grow very, very slowly. I also have 2 hiccan hybrids, which are supposed to grow extremely fast, but for me they are almost not growing, even after 5 years, and I have three pecans, also of the genus Carya, of course. They are also growing very slow in my environment here. I love hickories, but here--what's the old saying? "I should live so long!" I did some more research on American beech--based on what I can find out, maybe my initial idea of not bothering with it here is correct. They really, really don't like droughts, and don't like exposed sites. I never, never see any in the woods around here, and I am not sure I can point to a single one in Winchester. Beautiful trees, but I am afraid not for here. Well, I am still looking for ideas. I know it is a sin in the minds of many in these forums, but I may just prune up a Norway spruce or two for shade trees, and/or white pine. But so far the oaks are the best I have. I mentioned the white and swamp white oaks, but the two largest are Shummard oaks--they thrive here. Oh, and I have cottonwoods. They are not spreading yet, so not much shade. Where I grew up--from age 5 to 15, the primary tree for shade and general enjoyment was a cottonwood. Gorgeous!! I have a Siouxland cultivar of eastern cottonwood. In the ground 5 years, 20 feet tall, and looking like it may be the star of all the 120 or so kinds of trees I have here!! Wonderful large leaves, rich green, glossy, and so far this tree is acting like it is more drought resistant than my other cottonwoods. --spruce

I'd recommend a trip to Morton Arboretum, they'll have a nice variety of all these so you can really get a good feel for the differences. I've just never seen a scarlet oak in Chicago so I wouldn't feel safe recommending it (might just be a fluke). I mentioned the city proper thing as I've been told in Chicago that east of Damen the soil is more acidic, I'm west of that line, but I really heavily amended my entire yard (rototilled in tons of mushroom compost and manure) a few years before I planted the NRO, and it turned a great orangish-red last year. I suspect that buying a NRO (or scarlet, for that matter) from an established nursery gets more reliable fall color, as they know that's what people want/expect, even though the red in the title came from the wood/lumber industry. good luck, you can't go wrong with an oak no matter what, Chicago planted burr, shumard, swamp white and shingle oaks all over my neighborhood over the past few years, can't wait until they really get established.

there is a fantastic oak farm in belleville/mansfield OH ... wade and gatton ... they sold me all 40 of my oaks in 2000 .... and they were the ones who told me about april planting ... call and ask them if they still sell 6 to 8 foot bare root oaks in april .... and do make an appointment to see the oaks on the 500 acre farm in fall color.. you could probably 'tag' a tree for spring with a down payment .... or not.. how do i know.. lol ... http://wadeandgattonnurseries.com/trees a very old pdf of theirs about oaks .. i am sure prices are not current ... http://wadeandgattonnurseries.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Quercus-Oaks-Retail-2013.pdf