Still Waiting on Fall Colors to Appear By
mid October, one would
expect it to feel and look like fall. However,
that is not the case this year. The cool
mornings are quite nice but these 80 °F plus
afternoons are way
too warm and humid. Not only are the unusual warm days just plain hot,
it is
keeping many of the trees’ foliage from displaying fall colors. Some
leaves are
starting to show signs of turning here and there but most are waiting
for
cooler temperatures. And what’s even more frustrating is that the same
problem
exists further north up in the mountains of
From all the fall foliage reports I have gathered in the last two weeks, which are few and far between I might add, the fall show of color is going to be much later this year. If my memory serves me right, the third week of October has traditionally been the best time to view fall foliage in the mountains. In central Three factors influence autumn leaf color - leaf pigments, length of night, and weather, but not quite in the way we think. The timing of color change and leaf fall are primarily regulated by the calendar, that is, the increasing length of night. None of the other environmental influences - temperature, rainfall, food supply, etc., are as unvarying as the steadily increasing length of night during autumn. As days grow shorter, and nights grow longer and cooler, biochemical processes in the leaf begin to paint the landscape with Nature's autumn palette. The amount and brilliance of the colors that develop in any particular autumn season are related to weather conditions that occur before and during the time the chlorophyll in the leaves is dwindling. Temperature and moisture are the main influences. A
succession of warm, sunny
days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring about the
most
spectacular color displays. During these days, lots of sugars are
produced in
the leaf but the cool nights and the gradual closing of veins going
into the
leaf prevent these sugars from moving out. These conditions, lots of
sugar and
lots of light, spur production of the brilliant anthocyanin pigments,
which
tint reds, purples, and crimson. Because carotenoids are always present
in
leaves, the yellow and gold colors remain fairly constant from year to
year.
The
amount of moisture in
the soil also affects autumn colors. Like the weather, soil moisture
varies
greatly from year to year. The countless combinations of these two
highly
variable factors assure that no two autumns can be exactly alike. A
late
spring, or a severe summer drought, can delay the onset of fall color
by a few
weeks. A warm period during fall will also lower the intensity of
autumn
colors. A warm wet spring, favorable summer weather, and warm sunny
fall days
with cool nights should produce the most brilliant autumn colors.
Grape Growing Workshop
If you enjoy growing and
eating grapes then you might want to
attend the Grape Growing Workshop in
To
find out more about growing grapes in
For more information, contact the Tallapoosa County Extension Office at 256-825-1050. |