• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Heavy Petal

Gardening for everyone

  • About
  • Journal
  • Small-Space Vegetable Gardens
You are here: Home / Pacific Northwest / Fall colour fallen flat? Blame it on the rain.

Fall colour fallen flat? Blame it on the rain.

October 30, 2008 by Andrea Bellamy 5 Comments

Gratuitous baby photo: Lila in the leaves, 6 months old.

The autumn colours are pretty spectacular in the Pacific Northwest this year (at least by PNW standards). Sure, normally we get a few weeks of pretty leaves, but it’s nothing compared to the show back east. Which made me wonder: what makes fall colours more vibrant from one year to another?

Autumn colours at Trout Lake, East Vancouver…

As I suspected, it’s all in the weather. Chlorophyll, the chemical compound that makes leaves appear green, disappears fastest during an autumn with dry, sunny days and cool nights, exposing the leaves’ orange and yellow pigments. Dry weather concentrates sugar production, which brings out the red.

…and on my back patio. (‘Fireglow’ Japanese maple.)

That explains it. We’ve had an uncharacteristically sunny, cold autumn. So next time we have our usual ho-hum fall colour? I’ll just blame it on the rain.

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailFall colour Default ThumbnailRain, rain, go away! Default ThumbnailFun with fallen leaves Default ThumbnailAutumn equinox

Filed Under: Pacific Northwest, Shrubs & Trees Tagged With: autumn colour, fall colour, leaves

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. nawlins dawlin says

    October 31, 2008 at 8:32 pm

    beautiful baby and color of the leaves changing. we don’t see that here really, they either stay green or fall off. :) good post!

  2. Andrea Bellamy says

    November 2, 2008 at 12:30 pm

    Nawlins – Thanks! No fall colour in New Orleans? At least you can grow those gorgeous bromeliads!

  3. Dee/reddirtramblings says

    November 2, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    I was doing some research for an article this week and learned this. I didn’t know it before. The photos are wonderful. I especially love seeing your sweet baby. The ‘Fireglow’ Japanese maple is wonderful too, but can’t outshine your baby’s smile.~~Dee

  4. Kim Tillyer says

    November 3, 2008 at 10:16 am

    I found your blog via Delightful blogs. I live in Northern England, we also don’t really get such bright colours in the Autumn, though it is beautiful here. Vancouver looks like a great place…my boyfriend is due to spend some time there next year and I’m wishing I could visit too!I will read this again, happy gardening!

  5. Andrea Bellamy says

    November 6, 2008 at 10:44 am

    Dee – aawwww! Thanks, you’re too kind. Re: the ‘Fireglow’ maple, I’m so glad its fall colour is amazing, because when I first bought it, it was like this year-round. Later, only its new growth glowed like, well, fire, and I was disappointed. But the fall colour certainly is WOW!

    Kim – Northern England is beautiful; I have spent some time there. I think the climate is actually quite similar to Vancouver. I hope your boyfriend enjoys his trip! Try to join him if you can :)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

My latest book

The bright, illustrated cover of Small-Space Vegetable Gardens
Small-Space Vegetable Gardens by Andrea Bellamy

newsletter

Subscribe to receive occasional email updates (I promise never to spam you!)

Reader Favourites

Round, cookie-dough-like balls of clay and seed

How to make seed balls

Colourful quinoa plants in bloom

Would you grow your own grains?

This proves it. Chickens are hot.

Categories

  • Annuals
  • Blogging
  • Bulbs and Tubers
  • Composting
  • Critters and wildlife
  • Events
  • Garden Design
  • Garden Tours
  • Gardens to Visit
  • Green Gardening & Living
  • Holiday
  • How To
  • Indoors
  • Inspiration
  • Miscellaneous
  • My garden
  • Outdoor Living
  • Pacific Northwest
  • Perennials
  • Ponds & Water Gardening
  • Raving and Whining
  • Resistance is fertile
  • Resources
  • Retail Therapy
  • Shrubs & Trees
  • Small-Space Vegetable Gardens
  • Sugar Snaps and Strawberries
  • Uncategorized
  • Veggies & Edibles
  • WTF?
  • Home
  • About

Copyright © 2023 · Infinity Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in