Many leaves are changing in my yard now. I should mention the plants that are turning and when they started. I wonder if it will be the same week in future years or if temperature affects these things much? Here’s a little rundown:

Peking Cotoneasters were probably the first to change. They got very bright last week, and then some rain and wind blew most of the leaves off this week. I think their peak was about Oct 1st, which is when this photo was taken.

The Yellow-Twig Dogwood shrubs also turned colors rapidly. Perhaps just as fast as the Cotoneasters. After the recent rain and wind, these have lost most of their leaves, too. This photo was one week ago. They had a nice glow.

This Golden Rain Tree is still just starting to reach its peak yellow color. This photo was taken one week ago, and it’s still changing slowly. Interestingly, there’s another Golden Rain just on the other side of that fence, and it’s barely even starting to change. It had a weird leaf drop back in the late spring, and then the leaves grew back quickly, but I wonder if the reason for the later fall change is that its leaves are a few weeks younger than the other specimen.

The Viburnum trilobums (American Cranberrybush) get great color in the fall, and they’re at their peak right now. The ones in the front yard are actually past peak and getting a little pale. I took this photo of my sweet little Emma today in the backyard.

Some notes on other trees and shrubs:

• My big red maples (Autumn Blaze) are starting to turn red but they’ve got a lot of green still in them. The one that has been chorotic dropped all its leaves in August, and some have been growing back. I hope it doesn’t damage any wood when the winter freezes that new growth.
• The hibiscus shrubs are getting yellow leaves, and the flowers have stopped blooming, but they aren’t particularly impressive.
• My cherry trees are getting orange-yellow leaves in the center of the trees, but they’re just beginning.
• The Japanese Maples are starting to blush, but not much yet.
• The Crabapple trees are getting some yellow-orange edges, too.