{"id":2315,"date":"2013-09-24T04:36:00","date_gmt":"2013-09-24T04:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blog.sdps-bbs.com\/?p=2315"},"modified":"2026-05-01T14:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T18:15:10","slug":"why-leaves-change-color","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/why-leaves-change-color\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Leaves Change Color"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ExternalClassB32381A568AD48C683E01271772954BE\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/autumn-leave-1415541_960_720-e1565289169673.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"autumn-leave-1415541_960_720\" data-rl_caption=\"autumn-leave-1415541_960_720\" title=\"autumn-leave-1415541_960_720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"longdesc-return-7587\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-7587\" src=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/autumn-leave-1415541_960_720-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Fall leaves.\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension?longdesc=7587&amp;referrer=2315\" \/><\/a>The display of color we enjoy each fall is explained by understanding plant pigments, the physiology and anatomy of leaves, and the influence of climate and seasonal weather conditions. Fall weather conditions favoring formation of bright red autumn color are warm sunny days followed by cool but not freezing nights.\u200b As days get shorter and temperatures cooler in the autumn, important physiological processes are triggered that make conditions for chlorophyll production less favorable.<\/p>\n<p>Check out the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/fnr-faq-5-w.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Why Leaves Change Color<\/a> publication for more details along with other hardwood tree information.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resources:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/f5t0knTWFYY?si=5E9lrE0Vqr6l40nk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Intro to Trees of Indiana<\/a> videos, Purdue Extension &#8211; Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/4-h-15-80a.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">An Introduction to Trees of Indiana<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension&#8217;s resource center<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.press.purdue.edu\/9781557535726\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Native Trees of the Midwest<\/a>, Purdue University Press<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.press.purdue.edu\/9781612491448\/\">Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest<\/a>, Purdue University Press<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/fnr-idnr-414.html\">Forest Improvement Handbook<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/trees-and-storms-mitigating-the-damage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trees and Storms: Understanding Damage, Risk and Recovery<\/a> \u2013 Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/tree-risk-management-what-every-property-owner-needs-to-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tree Risk Management<\/a> \u2013 Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yutZXXU6eHo\">Planting Problems: Trees Planted Too Deep<\/a><strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>Video, Purdue Extension \u2013 Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/contact-us\/directory\/lenny-d-farlee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lenny Farlee<\/a>, Extension Forester<br \/>\nHardwood Improvement Regeneration Center (HTIRC)<br \/>\nPurdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The display of color we enjoy each fall is explained by understanding plant pigments, the physiology and anatomy of leaves, and the influence of climate and seasonal weather conditions. Fall weather conditions favoring formation of bright red autumn color are warm sunny days followed by cool but not freezing nights.\u200b As days get shorter and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,44,53],"tags":[60,62],"class_list":["post-2315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forestry","category-gotnatureforkids","category-urbanforestry","tag-forestry","tag-got-nature-for-kids","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2315"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41371,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2315\/revisions\/41371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}