What about Rusty Blackhaw (Viburnum rufidulum)? It turns red in the fall/winter although that far south may not give you best fall color. Shantung maple 'Fire Dragon' may give you red fall color as it did happen in Houston at my mom's. Of course, there's always Japanese maples in many color and shapes.

Texas Smoke Tree is a great small tree for fall color and strangely you don't hear much about it. It puts on another show in the spring when the new leaves are pinkish green. Google images of Texas Smoke Tree to see them.

The leaves are a shiny rich green all summer with no insect or disease problems. As I remember it is fairly fast growing and has been this size for the last 10 or so years.

The spring blooms are a nice addition even though they are not as large, nor give as much 'smoky' look, as the more northern branch of the smoke tree family.

Here is a picture that was just taken. It is a little past it's prime, but still beautiful:

The link shows the tree in a picture taken a little earlier in 2007.

By the way, the tree is growing in San Antonio in thin alkaline 'soil' over limestone.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fall color in 2007

It's hard to get traditional types of fall color in zone 9. You may want to consider possumhaw holly. It has red berries that supposedly last all winter.

Female possumhaw produces the berries, and needs a pollinator..dwarf yaupon holly will work as a pollinator.

Pyracantha is the best source of winter color, but the thorns turn people off.

Thanks for the tips! The possumhaw holly is one that I am considering (I already have pyracantha), but the smoke tree is new to me. I will have to check into that one more closely. I purchased a young japanese maple seedling last year that had beautiful red leaves, so I am hoping that will provide some colorful foliage when it matures a little.
molly

I have 3 Japanese Maples and one Shantung. They are all lovely year round. BUT one does a brillant, jaw dropping deep red in fall and was the last to lose its leaves.

Emperor 1. The leaves are a rich eggplant color summer to fall, it turns for me in late NOV the mos fabulous red. I'm trying to remember what color it was in the spring. I believe it was red but not very bright.

Here is a link that might be useful: shows the summer and fall colors

roselee, your Texas Smoke Tree is awesome!

Randy

That's a lovely Smoke tree. It does have good color! PJ

I'm very upset, right now. I purchased a Bradford pear from a local Central Texas nursery. I explained to the man I wanted a tree that was equally as beautiful in the summer as it is in the fall. Well he told me the Bradford Pear is what I need, he didn't tell me about the negatives. All the information I have read is bad about these trees. I want to take it back to him and ask him why he didn't tell me about the stink (Oh I'm upset.) We have a new house in a small community and I don't want to stink people out. What do you all think? Should I take it back? I mean he did give me what I asked for, he just didn't inform me of the negs.

I wouldn't be so worried about the stink, instead I'd be worried because it's a tree with a lot of flaws - poor branch structure stands out. We lost all of them that lined the outside of our neighborhood over the past year due to splitting during storms. The subdivision is about 16 years old, so their age was about the same, give or take what they'd been growing in the nursery. Almost all the ones that people planted in their yards are gone, and the ones that are left look bad.

I'd take it back.

Objection. My Bradford Pear, about 20' tall, is spectacular in fall, and quite oderless.

If it were me, I'd take it back. I agree on the poor branch structure. When they get big, they need the branches severely pruned (on the ends) because they are prone to split off, LARGE branches. We saw it happen to the tree across the street after a big rain.