Flaming Fall Foilage

Dear Farm,
Several doom sayers have told me the warm weather we had this fall is going to make it a bad year for the trees and they won't be as pretty. Is this true?

Fall Color Lover in Tamaqua, PA

Dear Fall Color Lover,
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, there are three main things that affect fall leaf color: leaf pigments, longer nights, and weather.

Leaf Pigments: There are three pigments in leaves-chlorophyll (green), carotenoids (orange, yellow, brown), and anthocyanins (reds). In Spring and Summer, chlorophyll is the most dominant, which is why leaves are green. This is the pigment that enables trees to convert sunlight into food. Carotenoids are also present, but hidden beneath the green of chlorophyll. Anthocyanins aren't produced until the bright light and excess plant sugars are present in fall. In the fall, plants slow and eventually stop production of chlorophyll, revealing the yellows, browns, reds, and oranges we all love.

Longer Nights: As the days become shorter, the trees are taking it as a sign to pack it in for the winter. The amount of daylight a tree receives is a stronger indicator to the tree that it's time to lose the chlorophyll more than the weather. Of course, less sun usually means cooler nighttime temperatures, so it may be a "which came first, the chicken or the egg" sort of thing.

Weather: Temperature and moisture both have a big impact on just how bright the leaves will be in any given year. It is the temperatures before and during chlorophyll production that mostly affect the leaves. The best-case scenario for the best possible colors? A warm and wet Spring, a summer with an average rainfall amount, and sunny days with cool nights in the fall.

So will the record-breaking heat have an affect on the leaves? Probably not more than anything else. I'm sure the trees will be stunning, just as they seem to be every year.

*Here's a bonus tree fact- Trees drop their leaves to prevent the build-up of snow on them, which would cause the branches to break under the weight. Evergreens are designed with needles, conical shapes and flexible branches, enabling the snow to cascade down to the ground without damaging the tree.