The Tail End
Fall color is still being glimpsed around California as the tail end of autumn’s show lingers.
Bruce Wendler found willows glowing yellow-orange at the intersection of Movie Road and Whitney Portal Road and commented that “Some of the Primrose Brush and Reeds turn a little red in the winter, so don’t give up on color in January.”
Willows are also providing bright color in Arcadia at the LA County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens. A broad variety of willows grow throughout California, providing the state’s longest display of fall color.
The show has been so long-lasting that willows, gingko biloba and wax trees (Toxicodendron succadeneum – a variety of poison sumac – look but don’t touch) are still holding color while, nearby, pink trumpet trees (Tabueia impetiginosa) are heavy with winter blooms.
If you are dead set on finding fall color in winter, the best opportunities to see it are in locations at the lowest elevations (deserts, islands) and where exotic varieties can be found (arboretums). Otherwise, the show is now mostly past peak.