Realistic Fall Tree Colors

[garyseven]

I'm making a batch of Supertrees and almost ready to start adding follage.

Q: How do trees change colors in the fall?
- Top to bottom?
- Inside to out?
- Randomly?
- East to west?
- Depends. Is there anyone there to see it?
- None of the above.
- All of the above.

Thanks in advance...

[Roger Bielen]

I think they start at the top as the sap starts to move down into the root system.

[Anonymous]

The start changing color at the top and work down, but not all varieties of trees start changing at the same time. Also some are more prone to losing leaves (bare at top, color at bottom) than others (all color top to bottom).

I saw a neat trick on a layout modeling fall -- the owner used green ground foam trees, sprayed them with glue (or maybe hairspray), and from above sprinkled on fine ground foam in fall leaf colors. It gave the appearance of a changing tree, not a solid colored fall tree. You might be able to do something similar by making green supertrees, then sprinking on some "fall" color.

Neil Besougloff
editor, Classic Toy Trains