GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It's a rite of passage in Michigan to enjoy a fall color tour. However, this hot September, combined with drought-like conditions, could take a toll on that tour. Since this September has been dry, the air could impact fall colors.
Steve LaWarre, senior vice president at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, tells me that this September is not exactly normal. “I think the best fall color comes when we've had what we would consider a normal year,” LaWarre said. “When we have a September like this, where, by our records here at Meijer Gardens, we’re about two inches below normal September; there's less water that's available to move through.”
Since Aug. 28, Grand Rapids has only seen a quarter inch of rain. There is normally two and a half inches of rain in that three-week window. So, leaves are dropping earlier, so the trees aren't losing as much water as they would otherwise.
“This September is different in the sense that those earliest-changing trees are going to start changing and dropping their leaves a little bit earlier than what our normal, perfect September would be,” LaWarre said.
According to LaWarre, the earliest-colored leaf to drop is yellow, followed by oranges then reds. The last color to drop is brown, which takes us from fall to winter. “The trees that are really the most impacted by this dry stretch are those earliest trees," LaWarre said, "so those trees that you first see turning yellow, and you're seeing that happening right now.”
If the fall season continues like this, “I would predict that whole color window would shorten a bit,” LaWarre said.
Alternatively, a rainy October could balance things out for the rest of the season.
LaWarre said, “The long-term impact on our trees is going to be negligible. We will not have any health problems because of this.”
Peak colors in Michigan usually happen in mid-October. So, it may be another couple of weeks before we know how this year's foliage will be impacted.
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