BILLINGS — We're into the Fall season here in Montana and you'll notice that the leaves are starting to change making for beautiful scenery. Think back to elementary school. Do you remember the process?
"What's happening is the trees are getting ready to go dormant for the season," said Jason Comer, assistant professor of Botany/Biology at Montana State University Billings. "Rather than just getting rid of all of the stuff that they've produced in their leaves, they can actually mobilize those materials and take them back in and store them for the next year. During the normal growing season, you've got green leaves. Those are the pigments that are responsible for most of the photosynthesis. Then as the leaves start breaking down those chlorophyll pigments, you get to see the others. That's the reds, the oranges, and yellows."
Peak season is typically early October in Yellowstone County, but that's not always the case.
"It's a little difficult to predict peak season because the changing of the leaves really depends on the weather," Comer said. "Typically, you want to see nice warm sunny days and then cooler nights. That will lead into some nice fall color. Right now I say we're pretty on schedule. What's going to make a big difference is if we get any frost here before too long because that will kind of nip things in the bud if you will."
There's a wide range of fall colors here in Billings but what trees tend to have the prettiest leaves?
"That's kind of a subjective question. It depends on what colors you like. Some trees are more known for their colors like the scarlet oaks and the maples. They tend to have those nice vibrant red colors. Others have more orange and some have more yellow. It just kind of depends on the species. It can also depend on the Fall weather."
Outlooks are showing warmer-than-average temperatures through at least the middle of October so the colors may start to really pop sooner rather than later. Enjoy the show.
