(November 2021) – Fall is a beautiful time of year. We enjoy the temperatures cooling off and love to look at the newly changing colors of the leaves on the trees.
I work remotely four days a week, so I was outside playing catch with my dog. As I was out there, I was looking around at all the different trees around me, in their various stages of color. You can't help but notice how pretty they become after seeing green for the past several months. No offense, summer… I really like you too, but I'm ready for fall!
I came back to my home office a while later, not quite ready to dive into the stress of the supply chain, so I opened the local online news. I know ... it's not always the least stressful thing to read either. I noticed a pretty fall picture, so I opened the article to read it. I'm a believer that things happen for a reason, and I was meant to read this article when I did. After reading it, I couldn't stop thinking about how we continue to see so many changes in our supply world that aren't really good changes, nor are they very pretty changes in most aspects. But the changes of the leaves on the trees in the fall ... well that's a pretty change for us to see, and something that can help us forget about the not-so-good changes we deal with every day. I decided to share this very article in hopes you can learn about some good changes going on right now, just as I did.
I don't have the picture to share, but you can look around on your way home from work and see something very similar, almost anywhere. It was a typical Kansas fall picture…a riverbank scene with lots of color-changing trees along the edge. The article is from Meridian Media, written by Taylor Jamison with KSU Research and Extension.
Why Trees Change Color in Fall
A favorite part of the fall season for many is the changing color of the tree leaves, but have you ever wondered how this happens?
"Specific pigments determine individual colors," said Kansas State University horticulture expert Ward Upham. "Foliage derives its normal green color from chlorophyll, the substance that captures the energy of the sun."
Chlorophyll is what allows leaves to produce the necessary energy, in the form of sugar, from sunlight. This is the process of photosynthesis.
Other pigments, except red and purple, are already present in the leaves throughout the growing season. They are masked by chlorophyll, making the leaves appear green. The red and purple pigments are produced after chlorophyll is destroyed in the fall.
Common pigments and the corresponding color they appear are:
- Anthocyanin – red and purple
- Xanthophyll – yellow
- Carotene and Xanthophyll – orange
- Tannin – brown
Once fall progresses and certain weather conditions are met, the leaves begin a process that enable the non-green pigments to show.
"Each leaf develops an abscission layer at the base of the petiole, or leaf, stem, that prevents sugars from being transported down the trunk to the roots for storage," Upham said.
The sugar then accumulates in the leaves, and its high concentration causes more intense colors.
Certain trees species may also color more vibrantly than others, according to Upham. Maples and oaks naturally produce vivid colors. These types of trees are more prevalent in New England than Kansas, which is why it may appear that Kansas trees do not color as well.
How well a tree produces color is also influenced by the weather. Ideal weather conditions for the changing colors are warm, sunny days and cool nights. More sunlight encourages photosynthesis and more sugar accumulation in leaves. Cloudy days and warm nights will make the trees produce less sugar and less vibrant colors.
The weather during other seasons may also affect fall coloring.
"Heavy rains in the early spring or hot, dry weather during the summer can both have a deleterious effect on fall color," Upham said.
Once the fall colors arrive, frosts and freezes can shorten their duration – leaving behind just the brown colors. Make sure to enjoy the fall leaves while you can, before the cold winter weather sets in, Upham said.
Upham and his colleagues in K-State’s Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources produce a weekly Horticulture Newsletter with tips for maintaining home landscapes. The newsletter is available to view online or can be delivered by email each week.
It would be nice if all of the current supply chain changes were as short-lived and as pretty as the color-changing leaves on the trees in the fall, but we know all too well those changes have created a gloomy place to be. But for the few moments that you read this article, at least you learned there actually are some good changes going on out there!
--Chrissy Fink