Plants make their own food all summer. They use water, a gas from the air called carbon dioxide, and sunlight. They get help from something called chlorophyll. The chlorophyll gives leaves their green color. Winter days are short and dry.
Plants stop making food.
In some leaves, the chlorophyll goes away in the fall. Then we see orange and yellow colors. These colors were there all summer, but the green covered them up. Some leaves turn red. This color is made only in the fall, from food trapped in the leaves.