NATURE'S COLOR PALETTE: HORTICULTURIST: FALL COLOR WILL BE BEST IN YEARS

Mother Nature has combined all the necessary ingredients to make this fall one of the most colorful in recent years, a horticulturist at Southeast Missouri State University said.

"It's already pretty out there, and it's going to become even more colorful during the next two to three weeks, if the weather continues like it is now," said Charles Korns, professor of horticulture. "We received sufficient rainfall in August and early September, so the leaves are in healthy condition. The bright sunny days and clear cool nights this past week will really speed up the coloring process."

Korns explained it is the sugars trapped in the tree leaves that produce the brilliant colors as the weather begins to cool and the supply of sap to the leaves is cut off.

Korns said during the spring and summer, the broad-leaf leaves are busy food factories. A green-colored substance called chlorophyll helps keep the tree's food factory running. The leaves also have other colors, such as red, orange, or yellow, but they are hidden by the green of the chlorophyll.

In the fall, as the days grow shorter and nights cooler, the tree or plant produces a chemical that plugs the circulation in each leaf so that it can no longer make food. When that happens, the chlorophyll breaks down and the green color in the leaf disappears.

At that point, the hidden colors in the leaf begin to show. At first, they are only a faint hue and shade. As the process continues, if weather and leaf conditions are right, the color becomes more brilliant. Because of artificial lighting in larger cities, the process begins somewhat later than in rural areas.

Korns said sumac and some maples are already brightly colored. Other hardwoods will start turning in the next week.

He said trees that traditionally produce the brightest colors are dogwoods (red leaves), hickory (yellow), sugar maple (yellow), scarlet or red maple (bright red), and pin oak and scarlet oak (bronze).

Korns said the black gum, which is found in the upland wooded areas north and west of Cape Girardeau, produces a dark, red wine colored leaf. The sweet gum is probably one of the most colorful trees in the woods because it produces multi-colored leaves that are red, bronze, purple and even yellow. "It's a native tree and great for fall color," he said.

In addition to trees, there are several bushes that display brilliant colors during the fall. The most familiar and visible is the burning bush, so named because its leaves are a fiery red during the fall. "We also get some nice colors from the blueberry plants, sassafras and forsythia bushes." he added.

Korns said poison ivy and poison oak also produce bright red and orange leaves that are just as potent in terms of poison in the fall as they are during the summer.

If the right weather conditions continue, Korns said the fall color show be at its peak during the next two to three weeks. "The next two weekends should really be great, with lots of color," he said.

There are a number of nearby areas that should have plenty of color, perfect for fall drives.

Close to home is Trail of Tears State Park, north of Cape Girardeau, with its wide variety of hardwood trees and a spectacular view of the Mississippi River and the hills of the Shawnee National Forest, to the east.

Another drive that will produce a brilliant array of color between now and late October is along Route C, from Highway 61, north of Jackson, through Altenburg and Frohna in Perry County, northward to Highway 51, east of Perryville.

For daylong trips, try taking Highway 72 north from Jackson, through Fredericktown, then north along Highway 67 to Farmington. Turn west at Farmington and drive toward Ironton, then south through Arcadia and the Royal Gorge, toward Piedmont. The route will take you through the Mark Twain and Clark national forests.

Across the river, in Union and Alexander counties, take Route 3 north, and enjoy the beauty and color of the hardwood trees on the high hills and bluffs lining the western edge of the Shawnee National Forest.

At Wolf Lake, turn right and drive through the Union County Tree Nursery to Route 127, or turn left onto the gravel road and drive along the Pine Hills Road, and enjoy a scenic view of the river bottomland.

A drive along the Grape Vine Trail Road, east of McClure, and on the many side roads along the way, will also result in breath-taking, close-up vistas of color and beauty.

For a daylong trip, try the new Shawnee Hills by the Ohio River scenic byway that extends south of Harrisburg to Elizabethtown, and along the Ohio River to the Smithland Lock and Dam on the Ohio River, north of Metropolis. "There are signs marking the entire route," said Tom Hagerty, public affairs officer for the Shawnee National Forest at Harrisburg. "We have published tour guides of the different routes."

Besides the Shawnee Hills by the Ohio tour, Hagerty said the tour guide also contains suggested fall color tours in the Jonesboro, Makanda, Carbondale and Murphysboro area.

Copies of the tour guide are available at the Jonesboro station, 521 N. Main, or at the Murphysboro station on Highway 13, just east of the railroad overpass.

Limited copies of the tour guide and map will also be available at the Southeast Missourian offices at 301 Broadway.