When Do Leaves Change Color and Fall Off Trees?

We all love the colors of fall leaves. The transforming autumn foliage never fails to disappoint. Do you ever think about when do leaves change color and fall off trees? Where do the colors of orange and yellow on leaves come from?

To answer those questions, we first need to know what leaves are and what they do.

The method plants change carbon dioxide, and water into sugar and oxygen is known as photosynthesis. This is also called putting together with light. The chemical chlorophyll aids in making photosynthesis occur. Chlorophyll is what provides plants with their green color.

Preparing for Winter
Plants are busy flourishing all summer and into fall. However, the dry, dark days of winter are ahead. As daylight gets shorter, trees use this sign to realize it's time to start getting ready for winter.

During winter, there isn’t sufficient water or light for photosynthesis. The trees will chill and live off the food they stored during the summer. They end their food-producing factories. The green chlorophyll fades from the leaves.

As the green goes away, we start to see orange and yellow colors. Little amounts of these colors have been inside the leaves all along. We couldn’t see them in the hot months. The green chlorophyll hid them.

So When Do Leaves Change Color and Fall Off Trees?
At some point, autumn leaves must fall, and they are prepared to self-destruct. By summer’s end, they may be harmed by diseases and insects. If you believe your tree is ill with insects or diseases, ask a Rochester arborist to examine it.

As fall days get shorter, the point where the leaf meets the branch is cut off, stopping the veins that transport water into the leaf and food into the tree. Once the leaf is cut off, it becomes flaky and dry, detaching itself from the tree.

Mother Nature doesn’t like to waste, so it isn’t shocking that though leaves may fall to earth, they still have another role. As they crumble, their nutrients go into the soil and nourish future generations of animal life and plants.