The leaves are turning, so that was summer.

Rusty first year botany here, but I was under the impresson that auxins were responsible for triggering abscission, not sugar. (??)

Either way, bring on autumn. And perhaps give those trees a bucket or two of water.

When the leaves turn to reds and greens it’s because the tree is injecting sugar into them to make them brittle (and purty) so they drop off more cleanly.

On stressed trees they just turn brown and don’t fall off (for the lack of sugar).

Yep. The trees are having a rough time, and with the hot and the dry, one tactic to stop losing water is to drop leaves. A few storms don’t give these trees the on-going water they need to cope with a hot summer.

sepi said :

The poor trees are dropping their leaves from stress.

I agree.

I think the trees have just been confused by the bizarre cold snap last week.
Don’t think I’ll be planting out all the new landscaping for a few weeks yet for fear of another hot spell.

I love the autumn me, it’s so much more beautiful than the blistering days of summer here.

And being in the autumn of life myself it’s rather sweet..

Leaves are falling all around,
Its time I was on my way.
Thanks to you, I’m much obliged
For such a pleasant stay.

But now its time for me to go,
The autumn moon lights my way.
For now I smell the rain,
And with it pain,
And its headed my way.
Ah, sometimes I grow so tired,
But I know Ive got one thing I got to do….

Where do you live now, old canberran?

I’m with you Granny. Once a year we try and coincide a visit to Canberra just to relive the frost, fog and crisp morning air. Couldn’t handle months of it again though. It gets down to 8 degrees where I live and that’s cold enough for me these days.

I had a foretaste of all things cold and cool while in Tasmania … and it was bliss! Jumpers and tracky dacks, yay!!

aww so sad