Why Do Trees Change Color in Autumn?

In Automn, Colors are just lovely, Oxide design Montreal Florists!

In Autumn, Colors are just lovely!

At O.XIDE Design, fall is one of our biggest inspirations. But who doesn’t appreciate the wonderful colors of fall! Did you ever wonder how and why a leaf changes color in fall? Why a maple leaf turns bright red? Where do the yellows and oranges come from?

As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees “know” to begin getting ready for winter.

During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves and as the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along; we just can’t see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll.

The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color.

Every fall, I find myself amazed at what nature can do. And every fall, I must take a walk on the mountain to savour this very short season.