The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by: Shana Jackson, The Quill
Autumn is the time of the year when the air turns crisp and the leaves on the trees turn to beautiful colors. Nature brings on so many colors from bright yellow to orange, to scarlet red.
The foliage season begins in early September in the northern region and ends in the southern parts in October to the first of November.
That was one thing we missed while living in El Paso, Tx. We didn't get to experience the beautiful colors of the fall.
Temperature plays a very important part in the foliage process but so does the wind and precipitation. The best foliage happens when the autumn days are mild and the evenings are cool but not below freezing.
The colors may not be as sharp or deny the change of colors if the temperatures stay warm for a long period of time in the fall or if frost happens before the leaves have a chance to change.
Precipitation also plays a part in the changing of colors. A real bad drought can make the leaves turn brown and drop before having a chance to turn to those beautiful colors. A late spring can also put a delay on the color change.
Wind is also a factor in the fall foliage. Calm winds let the leaves have a chance to change to their fullest color before dropping.
Just the other day I thought every leaf on our trees were going to be gone the way the wind was blowing. I felt like I was back in Oklahoma living.
So to get the best out of the fall colors we need a warm wet spring, normal summer conditions, and mild sunny fall days with evenings staying above the nasty freeze mark.
I just hope after the freeze we had this last week that we will still get a chance to see the beautiful colors of fall.
Gary will be coming home soon from Iraq and he would love to get to see the trees at their fullest and brightest in color.