ORLANDO, Fla. – Fall is here and the days are slowly beginning to get shorter as the sun angle lowers, meaning the intensity of sunlight decreases. This is signal for the leaf to start preparing for the winter season and to stop making chlorophyll.
Chlorophyll is a pigment found naturally in plants that gives plants their green color. Leaves are green in the spring and summer because that’s when they are making lots of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is important because it helps plants make energy from sunlight. A process called photosynthesis.
When the plant stops making chlorophyll, the green color starts to fade and the reds, oranges, and yellows become visible.
In the fall, trees put on a vibrant show, of course, depending on where you live. Leaves that were green during the summer season begin to turn bright red, orange, and yellow. But where do these colors come from?
It all starts inside the leaf. As the seasons transition from summer to fall, the sunlight decreases resulting in the cells forming at the base of the leaf and stops carrying fluids.
When the fluid stops, sugar is trapped then new color pigments are produced prior to the leaves falling.
Leaves have different colors because they are four main types of pigment in each leaf which produces different colors:
Weather is also an important part of the color change. In the fall, as the temperatures get cooler and there is more rain, that can play a role in how early the leaves change and how long they keep their vibrant colors.
Drastic weather changes can also have an affect on the leaves. For example, a drought or an early frost could make the leaves fall off of the trees before they’ve had time to change colors.
In Florida, Red Maple, crape myrtles, blackgums and bald cypress trees begin to change their leaves when the weather changes.
Generally, the peak times for the fall foliage in Central Florida is in November.
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