![]() ![]() In Central Oregon, depending on the year, our vine maples begin to change at the end of August at higher elevations and into September at lower elevations. Drought can cause leaves to drop before they change color and wildfire can destroy the entire plant. Extreme cold or storms can impact timing and color, and, unfortunately, climate change is also impacting our fall colors. Warm sunny days with crisp nights tend to produce the most brilliant fall colors. Of course, weather also plays a role in fall colors. Leaves must prepare for winter and drop before freezing temperatures arrive because their sensitive tissues would not survive the cold weather. Shorter days and less sunlight trigger the chemical processes that tell vine maples to prepare for winter. When will they change color? The biggest trigger for fall color is the calendar. Vine maples have spectacular yellow leaves in more shady locations, and even more stunning orange and reds in sunnier locales! The green gives way to yellow and orange and red. In the fall, as days get shorter and nights longer, the plant slows down and eventually stops its chlorophyll production. There are three main pigments: carotenoids which provide the yellows and oranges, anthocyanins which provide the beautiful reds, and chlorophyll which is the green factory. Finally, vine maple is adapted to fire and will re-sprout from its root system after some lower intensity fires.īut why do vine maples have such brilliant fall colors? Their leaves contain pigments that are stored all year long and eventually provide the bright colors we see each fall. Their leaves provide important food for deer and elk, small mammals and birds eat the seeds, buds, and flowers, and a variety of animals take cover in their dense thickets. Like all plants, they help remove carbon dioxide from the air and store carbon-major plus in the climate change era! Vine maples also have value for wildlife. Their roots help keep our rivers and streams clean by keeping banks from eroding and soil from running into the water. ![]() Vine maples play an important role in nature. Native Americans use these flexible branches for a variety of uses from frames for snowshoes, nets, or cradles to tools, utensils and firewood. Those spreading branches will even grow along the ground and take root to create large groupings of maples. It is considered a shrub by some, but a tall one-20-30 feet-which might make it like a tree to others! Its branches grow in different patterns depending on conditions: more upright in sunny locations, and more sprawling in wet areas. Photo: Tim Cotter.Vine maples have the classic maple-shaped leaf: broad, palm-shaped leaves with 7-9 lobes. Look for the palm-shaped leaves of the vine maple on your next fall hike. ![]()
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