Leaves changing colors late this year

Brandon Shields, Jackson Sun
·2 min read
This gingko tree at the UT Agricultural Extension Center on Airways Boulevard in Jackson will turn a bright shade of yellow within the next week or two.
This gingko tree at the UT Agricultural Extension Center on Airways Boulevard in Jackson will turn a bright shade of yellow within the next week or two.

For those who enjoy the changing color of the leaves in fall, the time for that to happen is about to be in full swing.

While it may be a week or two later than normal for the area, anyone wanting to get pictures or go for drives to enjoy the leaves can do so in the next week or two.

“We’re entering the peak time for the next few days,” said David Mercker, who works in forestry, wildlife and fish at the UT Agricultural Research Center in Jackson. “The onset of leaf color is brought about by shorter days and cooler weather.

David Mercker discusses leaf color change in front of a red maple tree at the UT Agricultural Extension Center on Airways Boulevard in Jackson.
David Mercker discusses leaf color change in front of a red maple tree at the UT Agricultural Extension Center on Airways Boulevard in Jackson.

“Trees want sunny weather and sunlight and warmer temperatures to grow. And they need moisture too.”

So anything that cuts down on sunshine and moisture for the trees will accelerate color change.

“A late-season drought, a string of cloudy days, the days getting shorter, cooler temperatures … all of that are accelerants for leaf change,” Mercker said. “So we haven’t had a drought this year, temperatures have been warmer with no real killer frost and the weather has been nice with few cloudy days.

“So that’s kept the leaves green for longer.”

Mercker said the kind of tree typically dictates what color the leaves will turn, mentioning most maple trees turn red and gum trees typically turn yellow. The chlorophyll present in the leaves makes them green, but when the trees sense the seasonal change and the pending arrival of winter, chlorophyll and other chemicals in the tree will decrease.

This tree is beginning to change color to yellow at the UT Agricultural Extension Center on Airways Boulevard in Jackson.
This tree is beginning to change color to yellow at the UT Agricultural Extension Center on Airways Boulevard in Jackson.

“During the spring and summer when everything is going, the tree is using photosynthesis to make food for itself, which produces sugar, which is it’s food,” Mercker said. “But when the days begin to shorten and temperatures cool, the trees will begin to pull back on the moisture and the sugar and store them internally to stay alive through the winter while they go dormant for a few months.

“When they pull that sugar and moisture internally, that pulls the green color out of the leaves and also makes them easier to come off the tree. So that eventually when a storm comes through, most leaves will fall off then.”

This gum tree has leaves changing color to red and yellow at the UT Agricultural Extension Center on Airways Boulevard in Jackson.
This gum tree has leaves changing color to red and yellow at the UT Agricultural Extension Center on Airways Boulevard in Jackson.

Mercker said his office has gotten a few calls asking about when the leaves will change, and he’s had the same explanation for the callers.

“The leaves will change, it’s just the order of nature,” Mercker said. “But temperature, moisture and sunlight are what dictates how early or late that happens.”

Reach Brandon Shields at bjshields@jacksonsun.com or at 731-425-9751. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram at editorbrandon.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Leaves changing colors late this year