Autumn's colors run the gamut of anything from red to orange to yellow to purple to the ever-present brown. Of course, that's nothing new. Predicting the colors is about as safe as predicting the stock market. There are indicators such as temperatures, moisture and whether the plant has been under any stress.

Years ago, I'd spend useless hours composing articles about why trees turn colors and most people would yawn and turn the page. Only when I went back and read some of the stories, did I realize it wasn't that exciting.

So, instead of concentration on the whys of fall colors, it became more exciting to talk about the whats of the plants.

There are some generalities, but no absolutes. The harder the wood, the more likely you'll find some great colors in the plant. Anything that grows three or more feet a year (willows, birches, silver maples) tends to turn a muted yellow or brown in the fall. Muted yellow is a fancy description of the color one degree above "blah" yellow.

The other generality is that a tree in your neighbor's yard or down the road will be twice as colorful as yours, and they will be the ones that don't do anything.

Red maples, which have green leaves during the summer and scarlet red colors in the fall, top everyone's list for red. 'October Glory' and 'Autumn Sunset,' are two of the most common varieties, though there are countless others.

Of course, the good old-fashioned sugar maple is another fall flame. Unfortunately, unlike the red maple, you just can't predict what colors the sugar maple will be in the fall. It could be yellow or orange or red, or something that combines the three.

A little smaller is the Amur maple. It's a great corner-of-the-house tree for ranch homes. It's also as fickle as the sugar maple.

I've harped on the black gum, sour gum, Tupelo or Pepperidge tree. It's all the same. Usually by September, one or two of the leaves on my tree will turn brilliant red. The leaves almost look like two male cardinals. Only because my cats don't go berserk do I realize it's the leaves.

Not related by anything but a common name, the sweet gum is also a great fall color tree. Unfortunately, it produces a seedpod that causes more than it's fair share of four-letter mouth-uttered words. The good news is that one of the newer cultivars, 'Cherokee,' seems to be somewhat sterile. Out in the country, though, who really cares about the gum balls littering the ground?

Oaks run the gamut of yellow to orange to reds. Scarlet and white oaks tend to be personal color favorites. Pin oaks are consistent, but also consistently plagued by high soil pH problems. There really truly isn't a bad oak except the shingle and willow oaks. They really aren't bad, only that their fall color ranges from brown to brown.

Dogwoods and redbuds provide great reds and yellow respectively.

Some of the ashes are great, some aren't.

Which brings us to the point of "so what?" Or, what color can you bet your ash on?

This is the time when you should buy a tree at a garden center or nursery because you could see the tree's fall color. If the tree were rather bland, blah and boring, it probably would not improve in your yard.

Fall is also one of the best times to plant a tree. Roots will establish during the cool fall, winter and spring soil temperatures. And most garden centers usually offer sales.

Just remember two things when planting the tree:

Make sure there are no buried utility lines where you plan on digging. There is nothing like hitting a gas or water line, or cable TV. Heat, water and TV are three of the basic essentials.

Second, make sure there are no utility lines above where you intend to plant.

David Robson is an Extenston Educator, Horticulture, at the Springfield Extension Center, University of Illinois Extension. You can write to Robson in care of Illinois Country Living, P.O. Box 3787, Springfield, IL 62708. Telephone: (217) 782-6515. E-Mail: robsond@mail.aces.uiuc.edu

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