Today is the final full day of summer and the leaves on some trees are already starting to change into their autumn attire.
Joe Herring, a district forester with the DNR in Iowa Falls, says the shift is coming right on time.
“I am starting to see some fall colors emerging,” Herring says. “It’s common to see the sumacs along the roadside starting to turn their deep scarlet, maroon and burgundy. I’ve seen a few maple trees starting to change.”
Iowans who live in cities may see their leaves changing sooner than folks who live in the state’s rural areas.
“Some of the first trees to turn are the ones in the urban environment that may be dealing with some stressors like compacted soils or shallower soils,” he says, “and maples, of course, are one of the premier species with fall colors, and we’re seeing some of them turn red.”
Much of Iowa had significant rainfall during the past week and through the weekend, with showers in some areas practically every day, but Herring says that likely won’t have much of an impact on the fall color show.
“If we’ve had a lot of spring rain and early summer, that can drive fungal diseases on some of the tree leaves,” he says. “Insect issues can also be a detractor from fall colors where if they’ve chewed away a lot of the leaves or chewed away some of the chlorophyll, then those leaves don’t change to a pretty color.”
The fall colors usually peak in central Iowa around mid-October, with the change coming a little later in the south, sooner in the north. Herring says other things could impact whether we see those reds, oranges and yellows of fall.
“We saw a lot of mild herbicide injury on trees all across the state this year with some of the herbicides that can vaporize and drift, and that’s caused some cupping and twisting on a lot of leaves,” he says. “I do think it’ll be interesting to see whether that impacts some of the fall color, too.”
Autumn arrives Tuesday just after 7 p.m.
(Reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)