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Dig This: Folklore and Facts of Fall Color

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Dig This: Folklore and Facts of Fall Color

By Pam Paulsen
Wednesday, 29 October 2008

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 October 2008 )

Dig This: Folklore and Facts of Fall Color

Every fall, just as we are about to plunge into the cold of winter, Mother Nature treats us with a final display of brilliant fall color. The changing leaf color in trees has been admired by people for centuries. As early as 285 B.C., Theophrastus,

the Greek philosopher and natural scientist, included comments on the shedding of leaves from trees in his lectures. In those times, there was not a clear understanding of the causes of fall coloration, so a number of legends evolved to explain the blaze of color that develops each autumn.

Jack Frost usually gets the credit for fall color as legends claim he brings reds and purples to the forest by pinching the leaves with his icy fingers, while yellow, gold, and brown are mixed on his paint palette and applied with quick broad strokes of his brush as he silently moves among the trees to decorate them. According to a Native American legend, celestial hunters kill a great bear in the autumn sky and, its blood dripping on the forests, change many leaves to red. Other trees are turned yellow by the grease that splatters out of the kettle as the hunters cook the meat.

We now know a little more about how fall color happens. Three factors influence autumn leaf color - leaf pigments, length of night, and weather. The timing of color change and leaf fall are mostly influenced by the calendar and the increasing length of night. 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.

During the growing season, foliage derives its normal green color from chlorophyll, the substance that captures the energy of the sun. Other pigments produce fall colors. Reds and purples are caused by anthocyanins, yellows by xanthophylls, and oranges by a combination of carotenes and xanthophylls. Browns are the result of tannins present in the leaf. Most of these substances are present throughout the growing season but are masked by the green color produced by chlorophyll. As the nights get longer and light intensity decreases, chlorophyll slows production and begins to disappear, allowing the other leaf pigments to be seen. Anthocyanins are the exception as they are produced after the chlorophyll is destroyed in the fall.

Fall weather conditions favoring formation of bright red autumn color are warm sunny days followed by cool nights with temperatures below 45°F, but not freezing. The sunny days encourage photosynthesis which increases sugar accumulation in the leaves. Cool nights decrease the tree’s metabolism and slows the movement of the sugars out of the leaves. As fall progresses, the veins that carry fluids into and out of the leaf gradually close off as a layer of cells forms at the base of each leaf, which prevents the sugars from being transported down the trunk to the roots for storage. This high sugar content in the leaves produces more intense colors. Cloudy days and warm nights prevent some of the sugar accumulation in the leaves and results in less vibrant colors. The length of time a tree maintains fall color also depends on weather. Reds, yellows and oranges are short-lived when trees undergo frosts and freezes. Since we’ve had a couple of freezing nights already, there are a probably just a few days left to enjoy the brilliant colors that have decorated Hutchinson this fall. Then the raking begins!

Once those leaves are raked, please don’t put them in a bag by the curb to be taken to the landfill. According to Cooperative Extension figures, Americans toss out 24 million tons of leaves and grass every year. Leaves alone can account for 75 percent of solid waste generated during fall months. Instead of needlessly clogging the landfill, here are more beneficial things you can do with those leaves.

Compost: Fallen leaves contain between 50 percent and 80 percent of the nutrients a tree extracts from the earth. By composting or recycling leaves, you can help the earth replenish itself. For very little effort, you can slowly compost the leaves by just making a pile in the corner of the yard and they will eventually break down. Turning the pile every 2 to 3 weeks will speed up the process, giving you usable compost in 2 to 4 months. Another option is to dig the leaves into the garden soil this fall. When spring planting season comes around, those leaves will be broken down, adding valuable nutrients and organic matter to the garden.

Mulch: A leaf grinder works great to make leaf confetti to use as mulch. So does running over the leaves a couple of times with a lawnmower or putting them into a garbage can and running a string trimmer to chop them to pieces. You can then pile the leaves 3 to 4 inches deep to mulch around existing plants. Mulching is a great way to conserve moisture around the plants and improve the garden soil. In the winter, it helps protect plants from heaving out of the ground as the soil freezes and thaws with the changing day and night temperatures. However, it’s best to wait until the ground freezes before mulching plants in the winter. You can also set some aside for use during the next growing season. Wait until we get the first of the hot summer temperatures to apply the mulch as applying too soon delays the soil warming in the spring.

Share with friends: If you can’t use the leaves in your own yard, you might ask your gardener friends if they could use them.

Dillon Nature Center: You can take bagged leaves (with no twigs and other garden debris) to the leaf recycling bin in the parking lot of Dillon Nature Center. They will grind up the leaves and use them to mulch their flower beds throughout the year. Please be sure the leaves are nice and dry as they get to be a little hard to handle and grind when they are wet.

Reno County Composting Site: Bagged leaves and other yard waste can be taken to the Reno County Landfill and left at the composting area for no charge. Just let them know at the weigh station that you are bringing yard waste and they will direct you where to go.

Yard Waste Pick Up: The City of Hutchinson and Stutzmans Refuse Disposal offer yard waste pick up with their refuse services. You can call the City of Hutchinson Water/Refuse department and request an additional polycart for yard waste. It is an extra charge of $6.62 per month, but they will come weekly to pick up your yard waste and haul it to the compost site at the landfill. You can sign up for it just in the fall or year round, but they do stop collecting and billing at the end of November and then start up again in the spring.

If you have questions or want more information on composting and yard waste recycling, feel free to reach me at the Reno County Extension Office at 620-662- 2371 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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