My favorite is October Glory. It gets its fall foliage in early November, a couple of weeks after the other Maples are done and the color has a hint of orange. I was disappointed with Red Sunset this year, it was more of a dull red. October Glory has been very consistent here.

Thanks Roger, I'll try to find one to look at. How fast does this tree grow, I know conditions play a lot into the growth as does the weather with the colors.

I am also considering Autumn Blaze, I just cant find any of any size around here.

Fall color is always difficult to predict - too many variables can affect it - and the warmer the climate, the less color is developed and generally of less intensity than that produced in cooler zones.

But having said that, red maples (Acer rubrum) with their very wide natural range (which includes GA down into FL and west to TX) or rubrum hybrids (Freeman maples) should be pretty reliable for your area. Autumn Blaze is a Freeman maple (red and sugar maple cross)

Named forms generally will produce better color than the species as these are often selected specifically for their fall color.

Gardengal, thanks for your input.

I knew the Autumn Blaze was a cross between the red and sugar maple and supposedly grows about 3 foot per year. (that's the main reason I'm looking at it) Unfortunately there just is not any large ones around, plenty of small young ones mind you.

I know from growing my Japanese Maples that there's a lot of variables involved when it comes to color and growth. Still some just seem to out do the others.

The more I look around outside the more I realize that there's just very little red colors when it comes to fall leaf color around here so with that in mind I'll either go with Autumn Blaze or October Glory.

A smaller, younger tree is not a bad thing :-) Cheaper, easier to plant and there is considerable evidence that a younger/smaller tree will establish faster and actually catch up to and sometimes exceed the growth of a larger tree at planting.

Just a note that Freemans are a silver (not sugar) and red maple cross. If there are small ones near you, you can get some idea of fall color at least. You also may find larger ones somewhere such as a college campus or a large commercial installation since that is where I see them mostly.