Fall Leaves (Tampa, Lake Park, Brooksville: transplants, how much, homes)

[cswitzer25]

Where do you go to see the leaves change color in the Fall in this area?

[Badbird2000]

Georgia, North Carolina or Tennessee!!
I lived there for 35 years, those were the only places i saw fall colors...

[algia]

On Ramblewood Rd, off of Van Dyke Rd.....map it, we get fall colors here and they are wonderful. Also some areas of Lake Park on Dale Mabry...

[gypsychic]

Just north of Tampa in Dade City or Brooksville - you would be surprised how much color can be found there, but it won't happen until there is a cold snap.

[TampaKaren]

Fall colors don't arrive here until much later in the year; many times it's December. The most colorful trees are the Red Maple, Sweet Gum, and Dogwood. The turning leaf color has a lot to do with shorter days and longer nights. I didn't know this until I read about it recently.

[seain dublin]

Your not going to see anything close to what you're looking for here.

[algia]

Florida is not known for it's "fall colors"!!!!!!! However we do have a few spots where you can see that. You won't see ANY fall colors in South Florida for example........but if you're expecting to see North Carolina and other Northern states fall colors, then you'll have to drive up there for that....Florida is close to the Tropics!

[tilli]

Your not going to see anything close to what you're looking for here.

Probably true. Central Florida has a semi-tropical climate. Very few of the fall-flashy deciduous trees can survive our relatively warm winters. The oaks that predominate here are actually deciduous, but they hold their leaves through the winter and don't drop them until spring. The only thing showy about the oak's deciduous cycle is the speed with which they churn through their seasons - "fall" (leaves turn an ugly rusty color), "winter" (leaves drop and tree appears bare for about 2-3 days), and "spring" (hooray, already spring! haha). Cypress is also deciduous, but they just look sad and dead once they go dormant, I find them sort of depressing. Although when they wake up in the spring that's awesome.

The swamp maples that have been mentioned are the most spectacular but unfortunately they are few and far between in my neighborhood. They only turn that lovely crimson when exposed to sufficient cool weather which usually begins around Halloween. As TampaKaren noted, they don't change until later in the year.

In Tampa, fall is marked by the cessation of daily afternoon showers and the arrival of giant flocks of migratory birds.

I have long recommended to transplants that miss the leaves to schedule fall vacations to New England (or where ever) to get your fix. It seems to be one of those things that people sort of desperately miss that makes them really homesick.

[vaughanwilliams]

Nothing spectacular to see in Central and South Florida. Every day is pretty much like the day before and the day before and the day before.....

[TANaples]

Originally Posted by vaughnwilliams

Nothing spectacular to see in Central and South Florida. Every day is pretty much like the day before and the day before and the day before.....

Some of these plants get brown circular spots on them and just die. They look like they have some kinda disease.