Roger's Tree Pick for October: autumn colors

Soon the leaves will start cringing on the trees and roll up into clenched fists before they begin their seasonal drop. Dry seedpods will rattle like tiny gourds up in the canopy of trees and fall will soon be upon us. Trees are like people, with no two alike, and one species of tree can have many variations when it comes to the fall coloring of foliage.

Where do the colors come from? When the days begin to shorten, soon after the summer solstice (June 21), a tree reconsiders its leaves and their future.

All summer long the tree feeds the leaves so they can process sunlight, but in the dog day...