Why do two trees on the same street change colour weeks apart? What the science says about early and late trees, and what it taught me about holiday prep.
Willowmena is still green. She's the willow we planted years ago and photograph every fall, and this week she's in full summer leaf while half the trees around her are bare.
I've watched the same stretch of trees for three weekends in a row. Two weekends ago was peak colour, and this weekend it had gone rusty, with bare branches poking through and a few stubborn trees still green.
Trees change colour at different times because each one is making its own trade-off: pack up early and keep more of its nutrients, or hold its leaves longer and soak up a few more weeks of sunshine. Genetics, light, temperature and the spot a tree grows in all shape that timing, which is why two trees of the same species can sit side by side and disagree about winter.
That trade-off makes a pretty good lens for the holidays, too.
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Trees don't have personalities in the human sense, though forester Peter Wohlleben makes a charming case for it. In The Hidden Life of Trees, he describes three oaks growing next to each other, in the same soil and the same weather, that drop their leaves at noticeably different times. He calls it a question of character.
In his telling, the early oak is the anxious one, packing up at the first cold night to avoid storm damage. The late oak is the bold one, hanging on through the last warm spells to bank a little more sugar for winter.
Most plant scientists would put it down to genetics, but I like his version better. I spent years pointing at trees for my kids and saying "look how that one is glowing," and thinking of them as worriers and gamblers makes every fall drive more fun.
What happens inside a leaf before it falls?
Before a leaf drops, the tree breaks down its green chlorophyll and pulls valuable nutrients, nitrogen especially, back into its branches and roots to rebuild with in spring. Scientists call this process leaf senescence, which means the planned ageing of a leaf.
Forest ecologist Gary Lovett of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies calls this recycling a neat trick: the tree takes back nitrogen and phosphorus for the winter and spends them on new leaves in spring. By the time a leaf lands on your lawn, it may hold only about 40 per cent of its summer nitrogen, according to the Earth Wise radio segment he spoke to (Earth Wise segment on autumn leaves).
Scientists still aren't sure exactly what tells a tree to start, which I didn't know until this week. The University of Antwerp's LEAF-FALL project is studying whether day length, temperature, drought or soil fertility does the deciding (University of Antwerp LEAF-FALL project).
Is it better for a tree to change colour early or late?
Neither strategy wins outright, and that's my favourite part of the science. A study of European beech trees published in the journal Dendrobiology compared early, intermediate and late trees and found the earliest ones reclaimed the most nitrogen from their leaves (beech senescence study in Dendrobiology).
The late trees have their own advantage: more weeks of photosynthesis, which means more sugar stored for winter. Their risk is an early storm or hard frost stripping the leaves before the tree finishes packing, so some nitrogen gets lost on the ground.
That study looked at one species in one region, so I'm not handing out life advice from a beech tree, but it does show that early and late are both workable plans.
Which "tree" are you when the holidays come around?
Most holiday prep advice is written for the early tree, and it leaves the late trees feeling behind when they're running a different strategy. If you've had a gift list going since September, you're an early changer. If you're still green and planning to sort it all out the week before, you're a Willowmena.
The women I hear from usually aren't short on advice. They've heard the podcasts and read the countdown checklists, and they're carrying a running list of "I have to do this, I have to do that" for everyone else at the table. One more checklist built for someone else's personality only makes that list longer.
Both get through winter. What helps is a plan built for your type, rather than one that fights it. Planners do well with a week-by-week timeline. Last-minute hosts do better with a short menu, store-bought helpers and a list of what guests can bring. I wrote about doing more ahead and less on the day in my stress-free party hosting guide, and the same logic works for a winter table.
What can we borrow from trees for our own winter prep?
A few of the trees' fall moves translate nicely to midlife bodies.
Eat like a seed
Seeds are a plant's packed lunch, holding everything the next generation needs to make it through winter, and pumpkin seeds pack more than most. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, one ounce of roasted pumpkin seeds (roughly a small handful) provides 156 mg of magnesium, about 37 per cent of the Daily Value (NIH magnesium fact sheet). Magnesium helps with muscle function and sleep, two things many women in midlife are keen to protect.
Roasted pumpkin seeds were a Halloween tradition in my house growing up, long before I knew how good they were for me. Save the seeds when you carve, or pick up raw pepitas from the bulk aisle, and try my roasted pumpkin seed recipe.
Bend like a willow
Willows are known for bending in a windstorm without snapping. Our flexibility and range of motion tend to shrink with age when we don't use them, and the fix takes very little time. While the kettle boils, reach both arms overhead and lean slowly side to side, then roll your shoulders back and gently turn your upper body left and right.
Get outside while there's still colour
You don't need a forest for this one. Pick a street tree or a schoolyard maple near you and check on it weekly until it's bare, the way we do with Willowmena. If you'd like more ways to use nearby green space, my guide to forest bathing without a forest has ideas that work in the city.
Key takeaways
- Trees of the same species can change colour weeks apart because of genetics, light, temperature and where they grow.
- Before leaves drop, trees reclaim nutrients like nitrogen and store them for spring growth.
- In one study of beech trees, early changers reclaimed the most nitrogen, while late changers gained more time to make sugar.
- A small handful of pumpkin seeds is one of the richest food sources of magnesium.
FAQs: Why trees change colour at different times
Q: Why are some trees still green in late October? A: Some trees are genetically inclined to hold their leaves longer, and others sit in warmer, more sheltered spots. A late tree keeps photosynthesizing and storing sugar, at the risk of losing leaves to an early storm.
Q: What happens to a leaf's nutrients in the fall? A: Before a leaf falls, the tree breaks down chlorophyll and moves nutrients such as nitrogen back into its branches and roots. This process, called leaf senescence, lets the tree reuse those nutrients to grow new leaves in spring.
Q: Are pumpkin seeds good for women in midlife? A: Pumpkin seeds are one of the best food sources of magnesium, which supports muscle function and sleep. A small handful also adds zinc and plant protein. They're easy to roast at home from a carving pumpkin or to buy raw as pepitas.
Ready for the big-table season?
Early changer or Willowmena, you deserve a holiday that feels like a party you're at instead of one you're running, and we can all muddle through this together. Join Enjoy Your Own Party, my free live hosting webinar, on Monday, November 9 at 2 p.m. ET for my timeline for planners and my shortcuts for the last-minute crew. Webinar guests also hear first about my Easy Hosting program, which turns your guest count and dietary needs into a menu, a shopping list and a cooking timeline.
Save my free seat for Enjoy Your Own Party →
About the author
Stephanie Valentine is a holistic nutritionist, clinical hypnotist and mental health wellness coach who helps midlife women sort through the noise and make feeling well simple. She's the author of the award-winning cookbook Love What's On Your Plate and the voice behind the weekly newsletter The Slice.
