If it is certain that there is verticillium in the soil where these were then you will have to plant something that is not affected by this.

Verticillium is present in most soils in temperate regions - it has a huge host range of more than 300 species of plants and only a portion of them are trees or other woody ornamentals. It's an opportunistic pathogen, remaining inactive or static in the soil for very long periods of time until prompted into activity by a combination of soil moisture, temperature and - it is believed, although not confirmed - by root exudates from stressed plants. And short of solarizing/sterilizing the soil, there are no recognized controls.

Maples, Asian maples in particular, tend to be more prone to VW than many other plants. If you search for "Verticillium wilt-resistant trees", you should turn up various listings of species that are known NOT to be susceptible to this problem. There's also a large number of trees whose susceptibility is not fully known but generally are not affected by VW and are therefore assumed to be resistant. It's a bit of a gamble planting one of these but usually they are OK. In general, a moderately acidic soil tends to limit the pathogen by increasing the availability of elements that are toxic to the fungi. An organically amended acid soil also encourages the development of antagonistic benefical soil organism that compete with or feed on the pathogen. And test the soil before fertilizing as unbalanced fertility (too high nitrogen levels, too low phosphorus levels) have been shown to have a correlation to the prevelence of the disease.

Reddish coloring may be difficult to accomplish :-) Fagus (beeches) are not known to be susceptible and are available in cultivars with red/purple foliage. Katsura, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, is also resistant - you could try the selection 'Rotfuchs' (Red Fox). Sweetgum, Liquidambar, will also produce good fall colors and is resistant. There are also cultivars of red maple, Acer rubrum, that are reputed to be resistant, but I'd be very cautious replanting with one of these. Most other trees with red foliage - Prunus, virtually any other maple, ash, cotinus - are susceptible to the pathogen and should be avoided.

There are all shapes and sizes of european beech with purple foliage so there should be one that will meet your needs. Coenosium Gardens website has information and pictures of many of the european beech cultivars.

David

Take a look at this web site:
http://depts.washington.edu/hortlib/resources/ucdavis_verticillium.pdf