Why Do the Leaves Change Color?

Mother Nature’s paintbrush didn’t wait long into the fall season to begin working on Innsbrook’s autumn makeover! We’re already seeing pops of red, orange and yellow along the winding roads and calm lakes. We look forward to this season every year at Innsbrook, and the beauty of it never fails to inspire awe, no matter how many times one has experienced it. There’s just nothing like drifting the day away on the lake, waiting for the fish to bite, surrounded by the glorious nature of Innsbrook’s 7,500 acres of majestic hardwoods. Or spotting an A-frame peeking out from a forest aglow with a kaleidoscope of colors.

Photo by Bob Wombacher

We know the change will happen each year, though the timing may vary, and we look forward to enjoying the show. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) even created an app call MO Fall Colors that lets users find and share Missouri fall colors, browse up-to-the-minute fall-color scenes from places nearby and around the state, and use GPS info to navigate to them.

But have you ever thought about why leaves go through such a dramatic color shift before breaking away and floating patiently down from the trees?

Photo by Cynthia Bowers

It’s not just cooler weather that prompts the change. Tree leaves contain cells that create food for the tree. The cells use chlorophyll, which give leaves their green color. The chlorophyll is what absorbs energy from the sun to turn water and carbon dioxide into sugars and starches (food for the tree).

In the fall, shorter days and cooler nights mean there’s less energy for food-making. The chlorophyll starts to break down, and the other “hidden” colors, or carotenoids, in the leaves can finally be seen. (Carotenoids are the same pigments that make carrots orange and daffodils yellow.) At least that’s the case for leaves that become yellow and orange, such as hickory, ash, birch, maple, sycamore, cottonwood, and sassafras.

Photo by Carolyn Eden

Something else causes leaves to turn red and purple shades. Those colors aren’t hiding in the leaves – they’re newly created in the fall when sugars are made during warm days, then trapped in the leaves during cool nights. The trapped sugars change chemically into what are called anthocyanins, which appear red and purple. The more sunshine during the day, the more red color is created. That's why shaded leaves will be less red than those that get lots of sun. If the weather is cloudy and the nights stay warm, there won't be as much vivid red in such trees as maple, sweetgum, oak, and dogwood.

Now that you know the cause, you may be even more excited to see the variety of shades appear. But when is it going to happen?

Photo by Gary Barton

Predicting the peak of fall color can be difficult. Missouri is blessed with a great variety of trees, shrubs, and vines. Their leaves turn at different times, so Missourians enjoy a fall color season that may last four to six weeks. Sassafras, sumac and Virginia creeper are some of the earliest to change, beginning in mid-September. By late September, black gum, bittersweet, and dogwood are turning.

The peak of fall color in Missouri is usually around mid-October. This is when maples, ashes, oaks and hickories are at the height of their fall display. Normally by late October, the colors are fading and the leaves begin to drop from the trees.

Once the colors are at their height, you’ll want to photograph the view! Here are some tips for finding good locations to shoot:

• For spectacular vistas, choose an Innsbrook route with sweeping scenes of forested landscapes.
• On a smaller scale, hike one of the nature trails under a colorful forest canopy on a clear, blue-sky day. It’s like having acres of shining stained glass above!
• Even treeless areas, such as the prairies and roadsides, display beautiful shades of gold, purple, olive and auburn with autumn wildflowers, shrubs, and curing, rustling grasses.

Photo by the Puzniak family

A couple of easy-to-access spots that would be great for Innsbrook fall photos are at Alpine Dam on Alpine Lake Drive in the southwest part of the community. Look south for a spectacular view of the Tyrolean Valley and the rolling, forested hills that surround it. Gorgeous! Or look north and get a stunning lake shot of 236-acre Alpine Lake.

On the other side of the community, head towards the golf course on Aspen Lake Drive. At the top of the hill near the Conference Center, look north and be awed at the scene that unfolds before you. You’ll be overlooking Aspenetter Lake and the dramatic elevation changes of Hole #4.

Then again, perhaps the view from your Innsbrook property is photogenic enough!

Photo by Bob Goulding

Make sure to share your favorite Innsbrook photographs with us on our Facebook page, email them to information@innsbrook-resort.com or enter them in our photo contest October 1-31.

Do you have recommendations for places to photograph autumn scenery at Innsbrook?

-Adapted from an article by the Missouri Department of Conservation