Why Do Tree Leaves Change Color Each Fall?

The Wonder of Fall

Every fall we delight in the splendor of the fall colors. The combination of purple, yellow, red, and orange and yellow is the result of chemical procedures that occur in the tree as the temps change from hot to cold. But have you ever wondered, “Why do tree leaves change color each fall?” Well, keep reading to get your answer.

In the summer and spring, the leaves have functioned as factories where most of the foods needed for a tree’s growth are created. This food-making technique takes place in the leaf cells including chlorophyll, the stuff that gives a leaf its green color. This chemical absorbs from sunlight the energy that is necessary to transform water and carbon dioxide to carbohydrates like starch and sugars.

Besides the green color is the orange and yellow pigments. The orange pigment is the same one that makes a carrot orange. A considerable part of the year these colors are hidden by vast amounts of green pigment.

The Role of Chlorophyll

But in the autumn, due to changes in the amount of daylight and the drop in temps, the leaves halt their food-making procedure. The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color goes poof, and the yellow to orange colors become noticeable and give the leaves their fall leave splendor.

At the same time, other chemical transformations are happening which create more colors through the development of red pigments. Some combinations increase the purplish and reddish fall colors of trees like sumacs and dogwoods. Others give maple trees their fantastic orange color.

Other Happenings

At the spot where the leaf stalk is connected to the tree, a unique layer of cells grow and slowly cuts the tissues that maintain the leaf. At the same time, the tree closes the cut, so that when the leaf falls or blows off in the wind, a leaf scar is left behind.

Most of the broad-leaved trees in New York lose their leaves in the autumn. Though, the dead brown leaves of the oaks and other species might remain on the tree until growth begins again in the spring. The one thing to make sure of is that your tree is healthy, that no limbs need to be pruned, and that your tree is growing in the way that it should. An Orchard Park arborist can perform a tree assessment for you.