A Quick Guide to San Francisco Color

Color spotter Ben Carlson of San Francisco’s Friends of the Urban Forest checked in with some details of what to look for in San Francisco this autumn.  He reports, “Though we haven’t seen any fall color yet in San Francisco, we know we’ll be enjoying some good colors soon, thanks to our great collection of street trees:

  • “We’ll see yellows and golds on our London Planes (Platanus x acerfolia), Golden Rain Trees (Koelreuteria paniculata), Raywood Ashes (Fraxinus oxycarpa ‘Raywood’), Red Horsechestnuts (Aesculus carnea, of which we have many on Dolores Street) and Gingkos (Ginkgo biloba, in the Castro neighborhood).
  • “Our Flowering Cherries (Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan’) will turn orange-yellow, and our Chinese Elms (Ulmus parvifolia, of which we have many on Folsom Street) will turn either yellow or reddish-purple.
  • “Our Washington Thorns (Crataegus phaenopyrum, in the Noe Valley neighborhood) will turn orange to scarlet, and our Chinese Pistaches (Pistacia chinensis, of which we have many on Harrison Street) will turn orange and red.
  • “Flowering Pears (Pyrus calleryana) will turn reddish, and our Sweet Gums (Liquidambar styraciflua, at Fell and Baker streets) will turn many colors.”

San Francisco’s color tends to show best from late October through November.  Thanksgiving Day is often peak, providing fitting autumnal festivity to the holiday.