gardengal48 has just suggested my all time favorite tree. I had 3 in the yard of my last home & sadly don’t have the space for one in my current downsized home. But, my new city has Paperbark as street trees in several long blocks so I see them often. That they can be used as street trees speaks to their hardiness and low maintenance. Paperbark has true 4 season interest. Though it’s a maple, to me its leaves have a more oak leaf shape. The fall color is a spectacular red. I noted that this is one of the later maples to both leaf out in spring & color up in fall. That quality makes it all the more showy because it’s so noticeable. The cinnamon stick look of the peeling bark is the year round appeal. Sorry to gush. Did I mention that Paperbark is my all time favorite tree? 🌳

Alternative leaf dogwood should do well for you and is native. It's hard to tell if these are Cornus Florida or Cornus Alternifolia, but Alternafolia should look pretty similar.

Distinctive Gardens · More Info

Chionanthus virginicus - American Fringe Tree

Chionanthus retusus - Chinese Fringe Tree

Carpinus caroliniana - American Hornbeam

+1 to paperbark maple

Coral bark maple- acer palmatum ’Sango-kaku’

Fullmoon maple

Kousa dogwood ’Satomi’

Smaller and slower growing - acer palmatum ’Shishigashira’ - crinkly leaves and form are gorgeous

When "no fruit" is specified, then the beautiful Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa) like pictured above has to be ruled out. It has relatively large fleshy (edible) fruit which make a nice show in the fall.

'No fruit' is a bit of a limiting stipulation since blossom usually = fruit. By ruling out fruit you're depriving yourself of an extra colorful display and a bird magnet. A couple of weeks of berries or crabapples isn't a great burden. No harder to deal with than leaves imo. Just mow over them if you don't like them.

Fruitless crab apple

It's been a lot of fun looking into these suggestions! Thanks to everyone. And, I probably should have qualified in my original message that "no fruit" meant no apples since deer pressure is already an issue for me.

Amelanchier 'Autumn Brilliance'

Cornus kousa, sp or cvs

Consider protecting the trunks of young saplings you plant to deter bucks rubbing their antlers to remove velvet on thin tree trunks. The amount of damage deer can do to a sapling is astonishing.

Update: I've purchased two single trunk Acer Griseum Paperbark Maples for my front yard! They are about 6 - 7 feet tall. They are scheduled to be planted in the next few weeks.

🙌 Thank you again for all of your helpful responses! And I will look into tree trunk protectors, @Design Fan.

Great choice! A paperbark maple needs to be a few years old before the bark begins peeling and get better with age. Mine is 20-25 years old, looks great and is especially interesting during winter.

Agree that you’ve made great choice for a really interesting tree that will add lots of interest to your landscape! I recommend adding some space between them a bit more than the stated mature width. Trees really show off prettier with some air space between them when they’re mature.