Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
The 'Autumn Splendor' cultivar of Ohio buckeye performs well in North Dakota, with a full, round crown that provides spectacular orange fall color. The tree produces large nuts which are favored by squirrels but are not for human consumption.
Many people pick fall as their favorite season of the year. After the extremely hot and dry summer of 2021, we welcome the cooler temperatures, the occasional much-needed rain with a little thunder mixed in, and the cheers of football season!
Fall colors exhibited by trees and shrubs are a product of shorter days. Summer sunlight triggers leaves to keep making chlorophyll, necessary for photosynthesis and the whole sugar-making process, enabling a tree to grow. But as the hours of daylight become increasingly fewer, leaves recognize the signal to prepare for winter and to stop producing chlorophyll. Once this happens, the green color starts to fade and the red, orange and yellow pigments become visible. These "fall colors" were in the leaves all along – but they were masked by the intensity of the growing-season chlorophyll. There is lots of chemistry going on inside these woody plants. Fall color is intensified and is most vibrant when fall days are cool and sunny, and there has been adequate moisture during the growing season.
Take a look: In New Rockford, look for orange-to-red coloration with Ohio buckeye (look near the Old Church Theatre to see several specimens), Amur maple (across the street from the school), and many shrubs. Most trees across North Dakota's landscape will produce yellow-to-brown fall colors.
One sight that we do not appreciate, as we try to enjoy the weather and complete outdoor tasks, is wasps. There are many types of wasps. They are beneficial as many are predaceous on other insects, so they serve some good. But in the fall, yellowjackets and hornets are aggressively searching for sugary foods. That explains why they hover around fruit that drops from trees, picnics and garbage cans. If you locate a wasp nest and feel the need to remove it, do so at night when the temperatures are cool and the insects are sluggish. There are knock-down sprays that do an effective job of taking care of the pesky wasps, but prepare yourself with protective clothing and a pair of running shoes! Once there is a hard frost, the wasps will die and you'll forget about them till next fall.
NOTE: New Rockford will implement another tree planting grant in 2022. WATCH for details on getting your name on the list for a "free" tree in your front yard.
