Ulrich Tree Care

🍂🍁 IT’S FALL, Y’ALL 🍁🍂

How do leaves change color in the fall? Hear from our Board Certified Master Arborist, Chuck, about the science behind those beautiful colors!

“This week in Tulsa is about as close to prime Fall leaf color as we can get. All around the city, trees are changing from green to the brilliant oranges, yellows and reds that make Fall one of our favorite times of the year here at UTC.

So what makes the trees turn such vibrant colors this time of year? The answer is both simple and complex.

The simple answer is, the colors we see now are the actual colors that the trees leaves always are throughout the year. They are just showing us what they are made of.

The complex answer is that there are pigments in the trees leaves that cause the colors we see: Anthocyanins cause the deep reds and purples, Carotenoids result in the orange and yellows, and Tannin results in the russets and browns. But during the growing season the tree produces a pigment that overshadows all other pigments - Chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll is what makes the leaves green during the summer. It masks all other pigments in the leaves. In the Fall, the daylight hours are reduced and the evenings get cool which triggers the tree to stop producing Chlorophyll. As the green pigment gets in shorter supply, it allows the real leaf colors to become more apparent. The vibrancy of the fall colors varies from season to season depending on soil moisture, and proper nutrient levels. Since we’ve had a tough couple of summers AND winters in Tulsa, some of the fall colors will be more muted than normal.”

We hope these fun facts provide a newfound appreciation of the fall foliage! As always, contact Ulrich Tree Care with any questions or concerns about your trees or plants.

U *tea* C hopes you are finding ways to stay cozy and warm today!

Last Saturday, UTC had the privilege of providing breakfast for the Tulsa F3 2.0 Takeover. F3 (Fitness, Fellowship & Faith) is a nation wide workout group for men that is free of charge and meets in various areas of Tulsa 6 days a week.

Normally, the men meet in the early morning hours to exercise together, but on Saturday they had an organized workout with their kids at LaFortune Park. It was a great time for dads to bond with their kids and other dads. The group completed various exercises, played freeze tag, and enjoying the great Tulsa Fall weather.

UTC was honored to be able to play a small part in this wonderful family time. If you’re interested in learning more about F3 you can visit www.F3Tulsa.com or www.F3Nation.com

Last week Chuck gave a presentation to 200+ attendees at the Tulsa Master Gardners‘ monthly meeting. In his presentation, he highlighted the best and worst trees to plant in the Tulsa metro based on his decades of experience in caring for trees in the city. He also presented a list of trees that flower, or have special attraction during different months of the year to inform gardeners’ decisions on year-round landscape.

If you are considering planting trees on your property, tune in over the next couple of weeks to see what trees would work best in your area!

🏆 UTC CONQUERS THE GAUNTLET 🏆

This Labor Day weekend, UTC sponsored a team to participate in Conquer the Gauntlet - a mud race 4 miles long with 25 obstacles throughout! Our team represented the heart of UTC… working hard and having fun doing it! Thanks to everyone who participated with us!

Fun Fact: Our Board Certified Master Arborist, Chuck Ulrich, ruptured his Achilles tendon while completing this race in 2016. He had the opportunity to redeem himself by completing the same obstacle without injury! Way to go, Chuck!