In the sense that they are not quite as reliable as, say a red or sugar maple, or a Blackgum, possibly, but most Scarlet oaks, many white and Pin oaks, and a decent number of Post, Northern Red, and Shumard oaks color well.

Nuttall too, but not sure it's zone 5 hardy.

perhaps the nursery is respected..

but whomever said that is an idiot ...

oak color is variable over the decades .. one year a given tree will be sublime... then the next.. nothing ...

ken

I guess he never heard of Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea).

I've had good color on Schoch (Q. palustris x phellos) oak, Q. rubrum, and even Q. muehlenbergii. Shingle oak and Bur oak generally turn tan/brown. The neighbor's Shumard oak is often striking. But, like has been said oak color is quite variable from year to year.
hortster

White oaks are often good here - but it varies a lot.

Two trees I can see from my office window - one has some deep red starting to show, the other appears to be turning a pinkish-brown at best. Some do turn stragiht brown or yellow-brown, as well.

However, overall Q. alba is a decent to good oak for fall color.

All thanks for chiming in. I was hoping to get some observations on Oaks that are less common around here.

I came across Quercus alba in a state park which does typically have a good to excellent deep red fall color but then another Oak near it that I couldn't identify that had the same fal color. Leaf looked like something in-between Quercus alba and ellipsoidalis.

I should go back and pull a leaf for ID.

whaas,
May I suggest that you show them the links below, and ask if they would like to reconsider their previous statement. I no longer post photos to GW, so you will have to follow the links provided.

Arktrees

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg155/arktrees/Fall%20Photos/Fall%202012/DSC02987-1.jpg

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg155/arktrees/Fall%20Photos/FALL%202011/QuercusconccineaDSC00959.jpg

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg155/arktrees/Fall%20Photos/FALL%202011/QuercusconccineaDSC01125.jpg

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg155/arktrees/Fall%20Photos/FALL%202011/QuercusconccineaDSC01130.jpg

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg155/arktrees/Fall%20Photos/FALL%202011/QuercusstellataDSC01082.jpg

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg155/arktrees/Fall%20Photos/FALL%202011/QuercusstellataDSC01084.jpg

I have a few oaks here on my property that where here when I built our house. They are only 10-15' tall... but they turn fire engine red in the fall. Not sure what type they are since I didn't plant them. But then right across the street from me are a lot of oaks. Roughly 75' tall. The leaves just turn brown in the fall.

Consider these are oaks that are often planted FOR their fall color

-Scarlet
-Nuttall
-some of the alba/bicolor/robur hybrids like Chimney Fire, Crimson Spire, etc

Pin oak, my 2 are bright red now, my other oaks aren't turning much yet, but one of my Chestnut oaks has a few yellow leaves so far.

Our two northern red oaks are just starting to turn red as well as our pin oak. They are usually later to change than our red maples and the color not as intense, but the oaks keep the fall color season running into November up here in NW Ind.

Today I saw my Pin oaks are red, my Chestnut oaks were yellow a few days ago. They are bare now. My front yard Burr oak was yellowish, but not for long. I had some Northern red oaks and other RED oaks, that were probably Shumard or Nuttalli oaks. I purchased them from LOWES or HOME DEPOT. They were labeled as RED OAK. The trees are great, but I am mad that they weren't more specifically labeled.

What an argument!

Unless your trees' leaves turn transparent after being green, every deciduous tree has leaves of some color come autumn. It is the height of arrogance to say "there's no fall color."

What else would cause one to favor some of the yellows or oranges - or, God Forbid, red - if there weren't some of the browns, tans, sands, beiges, and even dull greens to set the table for contrast.

Theirs would be a poorer world in Wisconsin without Quercus macrocarpa and its kin to carry the rest of the tree kingdom on its sturdy back...

The funny thing is that the burr oaks, which typically don't have but dull brownish fall color turned a warm golden yellow with orange undertones this year.

One of the few trees with some fall color right now is this oak in my neighbors yard. I took this photo from inside the house on a crappy iPhone thats zoomed in several hundred feet so its much nicer than shown.

{{gwi:248208}}

Here's a few from around my way - They're a few days past peak (getting some brownish and dryness to the leaves) but still a nice purple-red:

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Probable Scarlet Oak

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Also probably Scarlet, but shaped more like Northern Red

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White Oak, unfortunately hacked by the power company

{{gwi:458453}}
Off I-95 near Laurel, MD - Right near the center of the pic you can see the top of a gorgeous White Oak. I would have had to stop the car, get out, and walk onto the median strip to get a good pic though!

viburnumvalley, thanks for the burr oak pic -- saved. Wonderful architecture & built to last.

poaky, I agree -- those look like scarlet oaks. Look at whaas' pic above -- now that looks like N red oak -- no scarlet undertone.

Looks like good trimming techniques on the white oak -- those trimmed branches will do fine. Let's hope the tree-crews continue to use restraint.

That scarlet looks pretty cool against that white backdrop!

The one I posted is likely northern red oak, Quercus ellipsoidalis.

VV, is that pic from WI or KY?

It all depends on what you mean by color. If you are looking for the same vibrant colors that a maple or tulip tree will give (insert your favorite fall color tree) than the answer is another it depends. The first thing to know is that there are two types of oaks, the red and the white. The red oaks will usually have a brighter fall color than the whites. Note the word usually, local conditions will always have a strong influence on fall color. For a neophyte the easiest way to differentiate between the reds and whites is leaf shape. Red oak leaves will usually have pointed lobes and whites will have rounded lobes. Oaks in the red group will have fall colors that tend towards the reds, purples and yellows while the whites will be more toward the yellow and tan. One of the interesting things about the English oak, one of the whites, is that the leaves are a strong tan color and will hang on all winter, being pushed of the branches by the spring growth.

My shingle oak does the same thing. Seeing the leaves persist through winter were what made me seek to identify it.

A lot of it depends on the area in which you live. Here in Kingman, KS, where I have lived most of my life, there are Northern Red Oaks, Bur Oaks, Chinkapin Oaks, White Oaks, Pin Oaks, Shumard Oaks, Sawtooth Oaks, Willow Oaks, Swamp White Oaks, some sort of hybrid columnar oak, and maybe an English Oak. The only ones that produce reliable fall color are the Shumard Oak and the Sawtooth Oak. The Shumards turn red, yellow, and orange, and the Sawtooths turn yellow. The Pin Oaks color up red somewhat every few years but are not as reliable as the Shumards and Sawtooths.

I've also noticed that yellow seems to be the most reliable fall color in my area. If a tree is supposed to turn yellow in the fall it almost always does every year. So, the Gingko, Eastern Cottonwood, Ash, American Elm, Sawtooth Oak, and Locust trees have extremely reliable fall color. So, if you just want reliable fall color, in my area but don't care what fall color, then plant one of these.

Besides my Pin oaks looking great Russet red, My Q. Bicolor (swamp white oak) are a nice yellow. I had yellow Chestnut oaks, but the leaves are shed already. Nice orange-ish Beech (American). Still green Durand oak, it's been green for a year and a half, since planted, actually. My live oaks are still green.

As of now my Pin oaks and Nr Oaks are still reddish. The Sunday night winds Nov 17 th have made my Metasequoia and many Q. Bicolors lose leaves. I want to add that the local areas Q. Alba (white oaks) are Russet red, but I have 3 in my yard and the 2 that I gave powdered seaweed to in 2009 or 2010 have had ugly fall color. The trees grow fine in the growing season, but the one that I never gave seaweed powder to is Russet red. So I guess PH is an issue. I will be removing the red colored Q. Alba one if my Live oak "late drop" does good this winter though. I would keep, if the "late drop" live oak croaks. I would dig it up and put elsewhere, if the late drop stays alive, if not for the many shade plants that are in the root-zone of the Q. Alba. So if the Live oak "late drop" does okay this winter, I have to cull the Q. Alba. I can grow them anywhere in my zone, but if the live oaks are fine after winter #2, I must keep them where they are, so they will hopefully continue to do well. Of course the Beech is still red tannish.