polka dot trees leaf experiment

 Back in early August we put stickers on our trees’ green leaves to see if they would by effected by the lack of sunlight. We kept checking to see if a change was taking place and had no luck, UNTIL the leaves started changing colors.

polka dot trees

We were so excited to find polka dot leaves last week! Next summer we will try darker stickers instead of white to see if we can get a change when the leaves are green.

 polka dot trees 3

How to do it:
1. Wipe a fresh green leaf clean, it must remain on the tree for this to work.
2. Place a dark sticker or tape aluminum foil onto the leaf. If you use foil, cut it into fun shapes….maybe even spell out your name or make a neat pattern.
3. Check your design weekly to see if a change has happened. Be careful pulling the stickers from the leaf, some will be too sticky and rip the leaf, so do a lot.
4. Try this on many types of trees and leaves. Be sure to keep some on the trees until the Autumn color change; I love the look we had this year.
5. Press the leaf to preserve it.

polka dot trees 4

 For an explanation on why the Autumn deciduous trees change color and more science experiments with Autumn leaves visit Science Made Simple.

28 comments on “polka dot trees leaf experiment

  1. incredible! i would have never thought of such a thing. i love the way the autumn leaves look with their polka dots!

  2. Quince and Quire on said:

    I am so glad you showed this. I would never have thought to try such an experiment, and I love it.

  3. Carolyn (Harbor Hon) on said:

    I’ve done the leaf thing with the photo sensitive paper, but never thought of doing this. Will have to let Sister S know about it too. Love how you caught the daddy long leg in the second picture as it made it more outdoorsy. :) xxoo

  4. Bona Fide Mama on said:

    what a terrific idea!

  5. That’s so cool, Lisa!!

  6. Heather on said:

    This is amazing. After reading this, my kids are begging for us to do it. We will have to wit until next year though, there are no more leaves left!

  7. How fun! Polka dot leaves! :)

  8. Miss Meg the Homemaker! on said:

    Wow! What a great idea. I love the results. And, that red leaf is probably the most brilliant red leaf I’ve ever seen. Just beautiful. Fun idea!

  9. What a fun project! You are full of so many great ideas! I hope you had a nice weekend!
    Love, Sara

  10. Mom and Kiddo on said:

    This is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I am impressed that the stickers stayed on so long, too!

  11. dongdong on said:

    very cool.

    And we finally found some poke-berries just yesterday! I was super excited after finding many look alike berries with no colors.

  12. That is absolutely fascinating!

    I tried to find the acorn jewelry posting but the link lead me nowhere. I would love to see it. I have to come up with a nature craft for a Halloween party this week. Thanks! Beth

  13. Lauren on said:

    That’s brilliant!! The owlets will love that one come autumn ;)

  14. What a great idea! Will keep this in mind for next august!
    Cheers, BINE

  15. neat experiment!

  16. Very cool idea!

  17. Wendy Hawksley on said:

    Wow, that is pretty interesting. I never would have expected the colors to change so radically in the uncovered areas versus the covered ones! It is similar to a photosynthesis experiment we did with photo-sensitive paper.

  18. nicola@which name? on said:

    very cool experiment!
    nicola
    http://whichname.blogspot.com

  19. Very neat!!! Our leaves haven’t started to change yet, so that’s a great idea!

  20. That is pretty cool. The kids will enjoy trying that next year. Thanks.

  21. So cool! I’ll have to play around with that next year!

  22. Jessica on said:

    Nifty! Are you sure you guys can’t move next-door to us instead????? :)

  23. That’s very cool! We’ll have to try that next year!

  24. Christiane on said:

    Well, isn’t this nifty? Sometimes the simplest experiments yield the coolest results. I’m off to check out the link you’ve provided. Thanks!

  25. Lisa Crowe on said:

    What a great idea! Can’t wait to check out that site.
    Thanks
    Lisa

  26. pink and green mama MaryLea on said:

    This is the coolest thing ever! Great job : )

  27. BOATBABY on said:

    Wow ow fun! Thanks for the fun idea!

  28. Christie on said:

    That is a pretty awesome idea!