Fall Color Expression (revised)
University Outreach Publication
Conditions leading to best fall colors in trees.
The desire of people to see the best tree colors nature has to offer means estimating a time of peak
color expression. This estimation process is fraught with problems because predictions are only as good as
weather forecasts, tree health, and good chance allows. Human eyesight and color recognition also play a
strong role in judging the quality and quantity of landscape color. Additionally, it is not necessarily the single tree
and its colored leaves we most appreciate. As annual flowers may be massed together to yield a spectacular
color show, trees can be seen as massed across a landscape in fall. The large swathes of tree colors blanketing
autumn landscapes can be fantastic.
Across a forested or tree-covered landscape, human color perceptions differ as much as tree colors.
Some people enjoy and notice the early high contrast yellow stages of coloration. Others most appreciate the
diversity of colors during the orange color peak. For other people, deep reds and purples of late Fall represent
the best color presentations. Actually, the best colors are ones you can see and enjoy. Even people with
limited color perception (color-blind) can enjoy the differences in texture and color contrasts developed in Fall.
Any excuse for communing with trees and forests in search of autumn colors is a good thing.
WSFNR08-35
Dr. Kim D. Coder
September 2008
Warnell School, University of Georgia
Athens, GA, USA
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Click here to download article as a PDF.
WSFNR08-35
Abiotic Factors, Aesthetics, Biology (tree), Ecology, Health (tree), Landscape Ecology, Stress & Stressors
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