Fall Colors in Edmonds
It seems every corner I turn, I find myself marveling at brilliant fall foliage around town. I find myself wondering…did I just not notice those crimson maple trees all along that entire street length last year? Is it me or does the sun practically make that oak tree glow? Edmonds’ trees really know how to put on a spectacular fall show. Even folks passing through take notice – an arborist colleague from Olympia waiting in the Edmonds ferry line was so amazed with nearby Parrotia (Persian Ironwood) foliage color that she wrote an article about them that appeared in TreeLink.
Stewartia Pseudocamellia
Perhaps I am in awe of fall foliage color and leaf drop because I grew up in Florida, where a tree with yellow leaves is diseased or altogether devoid of foliage is…dead. Here in temperate regions, most deciduous trees and shrubs go through their autumnal transformation as an adaptation to harsher winter conditions. Fall leaf coloration just happens to be a beautiful by-product of trees preparing to drop their leaves. Triggered by shorter day length, chlorophyll (what gives leaves their green color) gets reabsorbed into the tree so that other pigmented cells in the leaves – carotenoids and anthocyanins - become more visible. Voila! Leaves turn bright red, pink, orange, yellow, even purple hues.
Stewartia and Impact of Smoke!
What makes fall color so interesting is that different trees have certain levels of these pigments, so that maples, sweetgum, sourwood, tupelo, dogwood, ash, and ginkgo for example, each have fall foliage colors that are characteristic to their species. Yet, other factors such as weather can cause differences in foliage color from one year to the next. I have not seen studies yet but my arborist colleagues are thinking wildfire smoke may play a factor in oddly timed or uncharacteristic fall color this year. I do know that scientists have observed fall leaf color to occur around a week later compared to records in the 1950’s due to climate change.
Harlequin Glorybower
Full Moon Maple
So, before it’s too late, check out the fall foliage the next time you’re out running errands, walking the dog or hiking during this incredible autumn phenomenon. Or check out the fall foliage video series and the descriptions of trees at each of the gardens featured in the Edmonds in Bloom 2022 garden tour on the EIB website. You might even be inspired to visit your local nursery to find a special tree to plant that will joyfully announce autumn in your yard for years to come.
Cryptomeria Japonica- Japanese Cedar
Parrotia Persica - Persian Spire
Metasequoia Glyptostroboides, the Dawn Redwood
