On the Lack of Fall Color This Year
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The trees along the Frio River at Garner State Park in Concan usually offer some stunning fall color this time of year. Photo courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife
Fayette County isn’t really known for stunning fall foliage. But this year, the fall color is particularly dull.
Around our place near Cozy Corner, the elm trees sometimes turn bright yellow and crimson in the fall. This year they went from dull green to dead brown.
That’s because they’re in stress. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been dry. According to historical rainfall data from the LCRA gauge at the Colorado River in La Grange, it has rained just 2.47 inches in the last six months.
It hasn’t really been that cold yet, either.
Those two factors – change in temperature and precipitation – play a critical role in the color of fall foliage. It all boils down to chemistry.
“As heat stress or cool temperatures occur, the chlorophyll and green appearance of leaves are destroyed, allowing other pigments to emerge,” says Jonathan Stuckey in an article written for the Texas A&M Forest Service. “Although these pigments begin to appear under changes in the environmental conditions, they were present in the leaf all along.”
In a year with normal rainfall and temperature changes, Stuckey writes, “pigments such a carotenes, xanthophyll and and anthocyanin emerge,” which appear as colors of red, orange, yellow, crimson and purple.
Extended drought, like the one we’re in, cause leaves to change color and drop quickly. At my place, the only trees with any significant color right now are the Chinese tallow trees – an invasive species.
But if you really want to see some fall color this year, you could do a little traveling. Here are some of Texas’ best spots to view fall foliage this time of year:
• Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Hill Country, located near Vanderpool, west of San Antonio. This area is known for its stand of Uvalde bigtooth maples.
• Garner State Park, another Hill Country destination near the town of Concan. Stands of cypress, oak, mesquite, and persimmon line the shores of the Frio River.
• Caprock Canyons, located southeast of Amarillo. This park is known for the stunning color of its giant cottonwood trees in the fall.
• Lake Bob Sandlin State Park, located near Pittsburg east of Dallas. This park features a mix of elms, oaks, sweetgums, beeches and hickories.