The Red Maples In Cedar Swamp

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“There’s a lot of red maples in Cedar Swamp,” the madman proclaimed as we drove along the edge of the swamp on our way to Highland Lake. I took the bait. “How would you know, you’ve never been in there?” I asked.

Cedar Swamp WMA sign — The only notification of Cedar Swamp in New Hartford.

His big smile came out as he told me to look at the colors along the road. The leaves of the red maple turn red in the fall, and the drive was specked with red maple leaves. Fall did arrive a few days ago. Just maybe we’ll be taking some drives in the country.

Red Maples in Cedar Swamp — Red maples love the moist ground in Cedar Swamp.

A Show In The Country

The roads of Connecticut should offer quite a show this year. The curtain comes up first in the northern hills of Litchfield and Windham Counties which should be hitting peak any time now. Northern Hartford and Tolland Counties are next. Then the show moves to the central part of the state. It ends along the shoreline. But, the final curtain really falls on southwest Fairfield County (the madman calls that New York) in November. You can find the show’s program on the CT DEEP website. The madman thinks that the dates are based on average, so they may be slightly off, but they give you a good guideline.

Colorful fall trees — The leaves put on a nice show in our backyard. This photo is from a couple of years ago.

So what causes this show? According to one Native American legend, celestial hunters killed the great Autumn Bear. His blood flowed over some trees, turning the leaves red. When the hunters cooked their prey, bear fat splattered on other trees, turning them yellow. This makes for a good story around the campfire, but the madman has a different take on the changing colors.

Pigment, Not Bear Fat

He says it boils down to pigment, not bear blood and fat. We all learned in science class that leaves contain chlorophyll, a green chemical that uses the sun’s energy to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O) to sugars and starches. This process, known as photosynthesis, produces food for the trees. In addition to chlorophyll, leaves also contain carotenoids. The carotenoids produce yellows and oranges in plants.

Yellow leaves of Spicebush — The Spicebush in our backyard is starting to turn yellow.

During the summer, these carotenoids stay in the background while the chlorophyll takes center stage. But, as the days get shorter, chlorophyll production slows down, allowing the yellows and oranges to appear in the leaf canopy. Since the amount of carotenoids in a tree’s leaf is fairly constant, these colors won’t change much from year to year. That explains the yellows and oranges.

What Gives Us Red?

But, what about the reds? Some leaves also contain anthocyanins which produce the color red, and sometimes purple. Whereas the carotenoids are constant, the anthocyanins are somewhat dependent upon weather conditions. Here’s the madman’s short version of the process (trust me, you don’t want to hear the long one). A warm, wet spring, followed by a pleasant summer – you know, not too wet, not too dry, topped off by warm sunny days and cool frost-tree nights in the fall will give the best reds. Changes in any of these conditions will change the brilliance of the reds.

Red Sumac leaves — Native Sumac adds a red color to the understory.

As we said before, the leaves of Red Maple generally turn red in the fall. But, they don’t have the market cornered on red. Sassafras, some Ashes and Red Oaks also produce red. The Red Oaks in our backyard are usually a brownish red, but the Scarlet Oak is certainly correctly named. In the forest understory, Sumac, Dogwood and Blueberries produce brilliant reds, sometimes bordering on a tinge of purple.

Scarlet Oak leaves — Scarlet Oak living up to its name.

Will 2021 Be Good?

Ironwoods and Sugar Maple can be counted on for orange. Yellows in the forest canopy come from the Hickories, Birch and White Oaks. Below them the lower growing Spicebush and Witch Hazel contribute their share of the yellow. Since all these trees grow together with other species, you can easily see how the fall colors in some years can be quite spectacular. In fact, forecasters predict 2021 will be one of the spectacular years. We’ll see if forecasts are better with leaf color than weather. The madman is still grousing about the last promised sunny day that turned out rainy.

Red leaves of Blueberry — The leaves of our Blueberry bushes give off a nice red – much nicer than the invasive Burning Bush.

A Short Run Show

The madman loves the bright fall colors. It starts slowly. First, one leaf changes color, then another, and another. Then, suddenly, a whole tree has changed, and before you know it, the whole canopy has turned. Mother Nature’s work of art is complete. And, like all art, it’s “best appreciated from a distance”, in the words of Uncle Don. The madman knows the display will soon be over. One of these days, all those leaves will come drifting down. Trees shed their leaves to ensure their survival.

leaf pile — Soon the madman will have to contend with the leaves.

The Leaves Have To Go

The branches and roots of our trees will withstand freezing, but the thin leaves won’t, so the tree gets rid of them. As the fall approaches, the trees produce a hormone that actually pushes the leaf from the tree. In doing so, a leaf scar is formed, sealing the tree from winter’s cold. Soon, the ground will be covered with leaves. For many people, this is a dreaded time. But, not for the madman. For him, all those leaves on the ground represent a fresh start for the garden. He’ll soon be gathering them, grinding them up and moving them to his leaf bin where they’ll spend the winter. Next year, the madman will move them into the garden as mulch.