Hot and dry weather has swept through Naperville during the late summer, and with that has come early fall colors in some plants.
“The dryness, the heat we’re having right now could impact the fall color,” said Plant Knowledge Specialist at The Morton Arboretum Sharon Yiesla. “Fall color is determined by several things… we’ve also had recently some warm days followed by cool nights, that’s a good thing, and the fact that we’re having a lot of bright, sunny days, the sun is a good thing, so we have some factors that are working for us, and some that are working against us.”
What trees are losing color?
According to Yiesla, maple trees are one of the most common species to lose color among the local plant population.
“Because we have so many different species of trees here, and they don’t all color at the same time, we have sort of a change of color versus one species and then something else,” said Yielsa. “Maple (trees) have shown that the most this year and part of that was due to stress we had very early in the year where the weather was alternating between really warm and then cool.”
Yielsa said it was a typical year of rainfall up until the last few weeks.
“We haven’t really had a dry season for the whole year, it’s dry now, we’ve had two or three weeks with no rain, but this year we’re really pretty close to average or normal because we did have quite a bit of rain in the spring, and then we’ve had some large storms during the summer,” Yiesla said.
Locals can expect peak fall colors for the perfect family photo starting next month, though Yielsa said…
“Peak time is always hard because we do have so many different species,” said Yielsa. “I would say this year, possibly mid-October to late October… People should remember it’s not just the trees, but a lot of the shrubs will get fall color, and we also have a lot of great native plants blooming right now, a lot of goldenrod(s) and asters, and that can make a good (photo) background too.”
Yiesla said the 17-year cicada emergence earlier this year had no impact on the early fall color.
Arboretum experts answer your plant questions
For those with questions about early fall color in their plants, or anything else in their garden, The Morton Arboretum’s free service can lend a helping hand.
“The Plant Clinic is open to members and nonmembers alike,” said Yiesla. “We answer all kinds of things, the clinic says disease and insect, but we also answer questions about selecting a plant.”
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