The Glory of Autumn: What Causes the Color?

Article by: Tom Schneider

The North American Indians greatly respected the land and its fierce animal inhabitants. Deserving the greatest of respect was the bear.

According to Indian folklore, brave hunters in the skies of heaven slew the Great Bear. When it fell in battle, its' red blood rained down from heaven above, coloring the leaves. As the victorious hunters above cooked their prize, fat from the fires , Spring Flowers dripped to the earth , Fountains of Refreshment below, coloring the leaves different shades of yellow.

Great story, huh? Though not as poetic, the scientific reason is fascinating nonetheless.

Why Leaves Change , Viburnum in the Garden Their Color

Those of us who live in USDA Zone 5 are very fortunate. Even though winter , Waterwise Xeriscaping for an Extraordinary Spring Garden is often nothing more than endless days of drab, overcast gray light , Beauty After life - Plants For Drying - Grasses and spring , The Garden Gazebo bounces from summer-like heat , Flower Delivery one day to bone chilling cold , The Truth About Geraniums the next and summer , Flowering Trees - How to Make Your Garden Shady and Beautiful at the Same Time is a miserable battle with drought , Hibiscus Plants and tropical , Recycling Carwash Wash Water for Landscape and Toilets humidity, the autumn , Using Bulbs in Your Landscaping is always a dancing festival of stunning beauty.

That one gorgeous season , Flower Delivery makes the frustrating unpredictability of the other nine months minor inconveniences.

How and Why Does This All Happen?

Behind the breath-taking beauty of it all there is a scientific explanation.

Unlike the foliage on evergreen plants, , Flower Delivery the leaves of deciduous trees , Azalea 'My Mary' and shrubs , Flower Delivery are thin and ill-suited to withstanding the rigors of winter. , You Can Grow Your Own Herb Garden - Part 6 So Nature , Brilliant Corners: House Plants and Your Health devised a method for the elimination of those leaves and decided to make a party of the whole process.

All those glorious colors , Southwestern Landscape Art - An Investment? you see every fall , Planting Your Garden are also there in the spring , Riding Lawnmower - Choices are Wide Open and summer, , The Best Fertilizing Tips For A Green Healthy Lawn but you can't see them. Chlorophyll, the green , Hibiscus pigment in leaves, is dominate and masks the other colors , The Truth about Bulb Flowers all spring , Growing Clematis and summer. , Azalea 'My Mary' Chlorophyll absorbs red and blue light , Spring Flowers from the sunlight that falls , Mustard: The Greatest Among The Herbs on leaves so the light , Growing Clematis reflected by the leaves is diminished in red and blue , Garden Design: Plant a Woodland Gardens with Minimal Effort and Expense and appears green. , Hibiscus

But chlorophyll is not a very stable compound. Bright sunlight causes it to decompose and plants , Orchid Care are continuously synthesizing chlorophyll to maintain the proper levels. Because this process requires sunlight and warm temperatures, , Hibiscus it occurs non-stop during the summer. , Lap Pools – Great Exercise Inside Or Any Size Backyard In autumn, , The Best Fertilizing Tips For A Green Healthy Lawn as the days become shorter and the temperatures , Order Flowers Online a little cooler, the synthesizing of chlorophyll gradually stops; chlorophyll begins to break down and the other colors , Adirondack Chairs - The Proper Way to Care for Them gradually appear.

There are numerous reasons accounting for the various colors , The Hosta – A Shade Loving Perennial within the leaves of a tree , Red Rose History or shrub. , Letting Nature Grow Your Garden When the days of fall , Wildlife in Winter Ponds bring warm, cloudy and rainy days there tends to be less red in the leaves. Trees , Flower Delivery that are protected by shade tend to be yellow, while those exposed to sun , Wild Flower Garden - Yours to Design and Plan are more reddish in color. , Backpack Blowers

What Makes a Leaf Yellow?

Carotene is another pigment found in the leaves of many plants. , Gardening - Schefflera Care This pigment absorbs blue-green and blue light , Hibiscus to make the reflected light , Annuals - 5 Easy To Grow Flowers appear yellow. When carotene and chlorophyll occur in the same leaf, together they remove red, blue-green, and blue light , Recycling Carwash Wash Water for Landscape and Toilets from the sunlight falling on the leaf and the leaf appears green. , Flower Delivery

Carotene functions as an accessory absorber. The energy , Lanscaping - Planning Your Next Project of the light , The Truth about Bulb Flowers absorbed by carotene is transferred to chlorophyll, which uses the energy , Lawnmower Maintenance Tips That Help Produce The Best Lawns in photosynthesis. Carotene is a much more stable compound than chlorophyll, persisting in leaves even when chlorophyll vanishes. When the chlorophyll is gone the carotene causes the leaf to appear yellow.

Why Are Some Leaves Red?

A third pigment, or class of pigments, that occur in leaves are the anthocyanins. Their reflected light , Planning Your Garden from Scratch - the Basics is red because these pigments absorb blue, , The Truth About Geraniums blue-green, and green light. , Growing Grass Under Trees

Unlike chlorophyll and carotene, anthocyanins are not attached to cell membranes, but are dissolved in the cell sap and the color , Growing Clematis produced by them is sensitive to the pH of the cell sap. If the sap is quite acidic, the pigments impart a bright red color; if the sap is less acidic, its color , Growing a Sustainable Garden! is more purple.

Anthocyanin pigments are responsible for the red skin of ripe apples and the purple of ripe grapes. Anthocyanins are formed by a reaction between sugars and certain proteins in cell sap but this reaction doesn't occur until the concentration of sugar in the sap is quite high. The reaction also requires light. , Flower Delivery This is why apples often appear red on one side and green , Planning Your Garden from Scratch - the Basics on the other; the red side was in the sun , You Can Grow Your Own Herb Garden - Part 6 and the green , Flowering Trees - How to Make Your Garden Shady and Beautiful at the Same Time side was in shade.

One More Important Influence

So now that we know all we ever wanted to know about chlorophyll, carotene and anthocyanins, there is one more variable in this fall , The Garden Gazebo color equation: the weather. , Adirondack Chairs - The Proper Way to Care for Them

The weather , Garden Design: Plant a Woodland Gardens with Minimal Effort and Expense has a profound influence on the range and intensity of autumn , Planning Your Garden from Scratch - the Basics colors. Low temperatures , You Can Grow Your Own Herb Garden - Part 6 destroy chlorophyll, and, if the temperatures , Lawnmower Maintenance Tips That Help Produce The Best Lawns stay above freezing, promote the formation of anthocyanins. Bright sunshine also destroys chlorophyll and enhances anthocyanin production.

Dry weather, , Fountains of Refreshment by increasing sugar concentration in sap, also increases the amount of anthocyanin. So the brightest autumn , Riding Lawnmower - Choices are Wide Open colors are produced when dry, sunny days are followed by cool, dry nights.

Midwesterner Tom Schneider is a horticulturist, avid gardener and retired arborist. When not gardening , Hydroponics - An Introduction to Hydroponics Gardening for Beginners (Part 12) H2O2 he is assisting his wife, Deb, with their business, Windstar Embroidery. Visit Tom and Deb for embroidered gifts and machine embroidery designs. , The Truth About Geraniums

What's Inside
Calla Lilies - Flowers for All Occasions - The Calla Lilies are plants , The Art of Painting Trees and Shrubs belonging to the Zantedeschia genus in the Araceae family. The genus contains seven plant , Metal Sheds species and they are all commonly referred to as Calla Lillies. Some of them have other common names as well. Zantedeschia aethio...
Garden Ponds - Garden ponds , The Difference Between Large and Small s are manmade ponds , Patio Furniture - Coordinating Cushions, Chairs, And Canopies installed in gardens , ing Tips for Early - Mid July at homes. , A Bit About Bare Root Roses... Garden , Tulips: Anything But Typical ponds can not only add character to a garden , Potting Benches: Beautiful and Practical but also provide tranquility to an otherwise ordinary garden. , Hydroponics Lighting: Blue Spectrum V.S. Red-Orange Spectrum There are various ways in which a garden , Hydrangea Forever & Ever Red can be made more interesting,...
Annuals - 5 Easy To Grow Flowers - Annuals are a great addition to any garden. , Outdoor Lighting Fixtures are a Top Priority for Night Safety There are many varieties to choose from and many are easy to grow. , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (Part 7) - Hard Water Annuals flower , Garden Shed - Using It as a Workshop or Craft Room all summer , Patio Accessories - Complete The Great Outdoors long, many until frost. Here are five of the most popular, long blooming annuals. , Bonsai Plant Care: What You Need to Know 1. Geraniums. Tec...
Good Tools and Hard Work is What Creates EyeCatching and Functional Gardens - "Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade." -Rudyard KiplingSweat and toil along with gentle showers , Outdoor Waterfalls guarantee – pleasant flowers , Managing the Hobby Greenhouse and pleasing fruits , The Hosta – A Shade Loving Perennial and consoling shade. As Rudyard Kipling says, "Gardens are not made by sitting in the...
5 Simple Steps to Care For Your Push Reel Mower - Though most Push Reel Mowers , Bring the Smell of Nature into Your Home with These Fragrant Flowers made today are durable, they do require some basic care and simple maintenance in order to keep them running smoothly. Taking the following steps will ensure you have years of use on your push reel mower. , The Magic Plant Copier Wipe...
Landscaping Your Garden and Adding Value to Your Home - Landscaping is a big task, consuming much time and energy. , Italian Vegetable Seeds It also provides a great sense of accomplishment, well being and is a great source of energy. , Sowing Seeds But before you hire that professional, here are some tips , Landscaping s: Boost Energy Efficiency with Shading Trees that could save , Multi Purpose Tree – Sugar Palm both time and money....
Understand Your Soil: Healthy Soil Grows Healthy Plants - A basic understanding of soils , A Quick Guide To Fish Pond Bridges allows the gardener to work with natural , Choosing The Appropriate Tree For Your Garden processes to enhance plant , Tips For Growing Beautiful House s Even If You're A Beginner root growth and overall vigor.Soil is an amazingly complex, living ecosystem requiring a balance of organic, , Homemade Hydroponics System Plan inorganic, living and nonliving...
Sheds - is this a Man's Castle? - A wise man once said that a man’s shed , Winterizing Your Roses is his castle… well, actually, they didn’t, but they should have. A good shed , Cat Repellent or How to Keep Cats Out of Your Garden is a simply a great thing to have in your garden , Cat Repellent or How to Keep Cats Out of Your – you can take all those tools , Learn How to Enhance Your Habitat and kids’ toys that are lying around and give them...
The Plant Philanthropist - One year after we moved into our new ranch-style home, , The Plant Philanthropist the Merion Bluegrass lawn , A Modern Day Glove Affair was growing , What Type of Gazebo is Right for You? Top Questions You Need to Ask well and the basic flower , Dangers in the Garden: Animals beds were mapped out. A new home , Reblooming Poinsettia doesn't need repairs, , How To Make Your Own Moss Landscape Rock and Garden Statues but a myriad of needs kept cropping up to soak up any available money. A...

The Glory of Autumn: What Causes the Color?

Landscape Gardening

Seasonal Gardening