One way would be to collect the seeds from the trees you see with good color. Maples and Oaks provide a large portion of the fall color show. Of course, not all trees mature their seeds in the fall.

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) usually turns a nice orange. Their seeds mature in the fall, so you can find them on the ground under the trees, or maybe still attached to the trees right now. Collect a lot, because many of them may be hollow. Keep them in the fridge in moist sand over the winter and plant in the spring. Red maple (Acer rubrum) turns red or yellow or orange. Their seeds mature in the spring and are long gone.

Many oaks (Quercus species) drop their acorns in the fall as well, so if you see an oak with nice color (usually red to dark red/maroon), look under the tree for the acorns. Keep them moist. If the leaves of the oak are rounded at the tips, it is in the white oak group, and the acorns will germinate soon after dropping. Plant them as soon as possible. If the leaves of the oak are pointed, it is in the red oak group, and the acorns will not germinate until spring. Keep them in the fridge in a plastic bag with moist sand or peat moss for the winter and plant in the spring

What is the climate like where you live? Is there much of a winter?

Alex

Welcome yaar! Happy Diwali.

Back on topic...It will be hard to find trees that grow well in India that grow well in Sterling Virginia. Perhaps you could go to the southeast VA coast and get Live Oak Acorns. Many of the beach flora may do well there. I guess it depends on exactly where you are from in India.

Thanks a lot for the information, Alex. I will try to gather some seeds on my own. Are you aware of any store where they sell seeds though? Usually, they have small gift shop type of stores in national parks where they sell seeds.

jqplublic, Happy Diwali to you too :)

I realize that there is a very slim chance of these trees growing in my place. The climate in my place is hot for most of the year ... between 70 degrees to 120 for 8 months and between 45 to 75 in the winter months. Soil is Black clay.

Following up on Alex's suggestion, I took a walk and found some trees I am interested in. Can anyone please tell me the names of these trees?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31932941@N03/

Img 3 and 4, and Img 5 and 6 are of the same trees. Are those bulbs visible on img 3 the seeds of this tree?

Here is a link that might be useful: trees

#3 and 4 are Sweetgum trees. The spiky balls contain the seeds, but the seeds are tiny. I can't see the other pictures good enough to be able to ID them.

Thanks a bunch, alabamatreehugger! I will try to get better pictures. (BTW, did you click on the picture to view bigger picture?)

The spkiky balls are currently green and not too hard. I am guessing that they aren't ripened yet. Right? Should I just crack it open to get the seeds?

#1 looks like burning bush (Euonymus alata) to me. Their seeds are ready in the fall. Look closely for small red berries on the bush. I think they have to be several years old before they start producing seeds, so you may not find them on every bush. I don't know anything about germinating those seeds, but burning bush has a reputation for being invasive here, so I'm guessing it's not too tricky to get them started.

>Are you aware of any store where they sell seeds though?

I'd suggest looking on line.

A friend of mine used to live in San Diego, which is zone 10. He said that there were some maples there that would turn red in the fall.

You might ask at some of the regional gardening forums (California, Arizona) on gardenweb to find out what trees might succeed in your climate and show nice fall colors.

Alex

I'm not positive, but I think #'s 5 and 6 may be an Ash. Maybe a cultivar of White Ash, or the "Cimarron" Green Ash. If it's a cultivar that means the tree is most likely male and won't have any seeds.

As for the Sweetgum, the seed balls should turn brown and start opening up, then the seeds fall out.

2 Trees you need to get. Sugar Maple & Pin Oak. Bright Orange and Bright Red. But how will we know they will do good over in India? These trees grow well in NorthEast and change color in mid-late October.

Keep us posted on what you plant. Send pics!

Acer rubrum grows as far south as Florida (Red Maple). Southern seed origins would be best.

I purchase a lot of seeds from:
F.W. Schumaker
I think that's your best bet.

The Red Maples, Sugar Maples, all of these, Ash I believe too have already set seed prior at spring. Many months ago. They will not have seeds for picking this time of year.

I would call F.W. Schumakers (you have to call to order anyway) and ask for the owner's help. Get their website up on your screen so you can see the choices. Tell him of your soil requirements and of the heat and the amount of rainfall you get and when.

You'll definitely need seeds (most-likely) from the furthernmost areas of the Southern U.S. As suggested above too, other forums such as Arizona Forum, etc- will help immensely with choices for you as well.

I would think your very best chance of maple being Acer truncatum.

Another being an Oak with fantastic red fall color from Texas is Quercus x sternbergii. It's a nothospecies -- a stabilized hybrid of Q. shumardii x Q. buckleyi that's found naturally in a narrow band in Texas where the two species are barely sympatric. Same for Q. shumardii and Quercus buckleyi.

That's the best I can be of help. The idea/principle is to always match as best to your ability the climatic conditions from one place to another when selecting plants.
I call it "Comparing Climates."

As to conifers/evergreens, you might want to post on the conifers forum. There's much bright knowledge to be gained there.

Best of luck,

Dax

Thanks a lot for all the advice! Sorry for the delay in responding. I was busy with meetings and so couldn't get a chance to thank you all for the information.

I have ordered red maple and other seeds as mentioned above from Amazon.com . I will try them out once I go back. I will definitely report back the outcome.