Fall Color Update - October 12, 2007
Missouri Department of Conservation foresters update fall color reports weekly from mid-September through early November. 2007 has been a tough year for trees in the Show-Me State and fall color is likely to reflect this fact. A catastrophic ice storm in January, a hard freeze in April, and drought conditions throughout the summer will contribute to patchy color across Missouri. Regional Summaries:
Northwest Region, including St. Joseph and Chillicothe:
Northeast Region, including Kirksville and Hannibal:
Fall color in the Northeast Region is beginning to shape up. A fair number of sugar maples are turning bright orange, red and yellow. Many other trees and shrubs are adding yellow, brown and dark red to the display. There is still a lot of green, but recent cool nights and warm days should give us more color over the next few weeks.
Kansas City Region:
The outlook for fall color is fair. Look for fall color to peak around mid-October, but drought stress and the late spring freeze have left fewer leaves on the trees. Due to drought, many leaves are turning brown rather than their usual fall color. We had some good rainfall early this week, but it’s questionable whether it came in time to make a difference. Currently, sumac, poison ivy and Virginia creeper are red, dogwood trees are turning purple, and red and sugar maples are starting to turn red and orange in cities. Hackberry, redbud, walnut, elm and cottonwood are showing some yellow, but are mainly browning out on the tree. Color is more pronounced on trees under drought stress. Up till now, unseasonably warm nights have delayed the onset of fall color. This week’s forecast looks promising. It calls for nighttime temperatures to drop into the 40s and 50s with sunny days for part of the week. Hopefully, this will start to color up the trees in the Kansas City Region. For scenic drives in the Kansas City Region, try highways 45 and 224 along the Missouri River. For hiking opportunities, the following areas are very showy in the fall: Big Buffalo Creek Conservation Area, Benton County; Maple Woods Natural Area, Clay County; Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area, Jackson County; White Alloe Creek Natural Area, Platte County; Bluffwoods Conservation Area, Buchanan County; and Knob Knoster State Park, Johnson County.
Central Region, including Columbia, Jefferson City and Lake of the Ozarks:
Drought caused fall color in the Central Region to begin prematurely, but recent rainfall now has it holding steady. Many early species, such as smooth and fragrant sumac, poison ivy and Virginia creeper are turning red. If you don’t know how to identify poison ivy, now is a good time to learn. Look for a shrub on the ground or a vine creeping up a tree that is turning red right now. Though it might be confused with Virginia creeper (which also turns red in the fall), poison ivy has three leaves on each terminal branch, while Virginia creeper has five. Sassafras and wild plum are turning shades of yellow and orange. White ash is turning shades of yellow to purple but mostly brown. Sugar maple and Bradford pear leaves that are exposed to sun are turning reddish purple. It’s common to see large sugar maple trees with one half of their canopy green and the other half red. Many hickories have succumbed to drought stress and are turning brown. Lack of rain is taking its toll on the environment. South-facing slopes and rocky areas with little soil will bear the brunt of the drought and display the brownest foliage. We'll have to wait and see if recent rainfall will have an effect and prevent more trees from "browning out.” If everything stays on track, our fall color display in central Missouri will be less vibrant than normal with brilliant reds, oranges and yellows replaced by browns.
St. Louis Region:
Week six of the fall color season finds the St. Louis Region with a little more color, but still lagging behind past seasons. Some of the species that began to show color five weeks ago are now beginning to peak out. The brilliant reds, oranges, yellows and purples of the dogwoods, sumacs, white ash, sassafras and Virginia creeper are at their peak and readily visible along roadsides and the edges of fields. This week, bottomland species such as silver maple, sycamore, cottonwood, green ash and willow have begun to show shades of yellow. With cooler evenings being experienced late this week, many of our brilliantly colored upland oaks and sugar maples should begin to change next week. Also, urban landscapes should begin to see a vibrant change in trees such as sweetgum, Bradford pears and the many species of viburnums.
Southwest Region, including Springfield, Branson and Joplin:
Little has changed in southwest Missouri over the last week. We are still starting to see a little fall color. Flowering dogwood, sumac and maple are showing red and purple. Sassafras and blackgum have an occasional red leaf. Some trees have leaves turning yellow and brown due to dry summer conditions and pests. The cooler weather that has finally arrived will hopefully urge the trees to show us some color. Golden City will have their Rock ’n Blues and BBQ Festival on October 12-13. Visit www.gcbbq.com for details. Mount Vernon's Apple Butter Makin' Days is October 12-14. Visit www.mtvernonchamber.com/mt_vernon_applebuttermakindays.php for more information. Carthage is holding the 41st Annual Maple Leaf Festival October 13-20 with events scattered throughout the week. Visit www.carthagechamber.com/coe.html#Oct for details. Pineville will hold Oktoberfest on October 13. Call 417-223-8888 for details. The Cassville Fall Festival is October 25-28. Visit www.cassville.com/fall-festival.htm for details.
Ozark Region, including Rolla, West Plains and Eminence:
The Ozark Region:
The hills are starting to acquire a yellowish hue. Overall, however, greens predominate. Leaves in the tops of the oaks are starting to turn yellow. Some seem to want to change from green to brown, so the outlook for brilliant color is still up for debate. Other species are picking up some of the slack. The early birds still hold some color. Sumac and sassafras light up the fields, fencerows and roadways with bright orange and red. Hickories are yellow, though many have already browned up and lost leaves. The few ash in our Ozark woods are bright yellow now, and maples are starting to turn red. Many walnuts have finished for the year, though scattered trees retain tufts of yellow foliage. Waterways are showing the yellow-brown of sycamore's contribution to fall color. As the season progresses, some good places to see nature's paintbrush will be Glade Top Trail in Ava, Highway 181 south of Cabool, Highway 106 between Summersville and Eminence, Highway 17 between Mountain View and West Plains, and Highway 160 between Doniphan and Alton. Some events to look forward to Saturday the 13th include Haunting of the Hills in Eminence, the Rolla Cruise In, Rocky Bridge Day in Mansfield, and the Glade Top Trail Flaming Fall Revue in Ava. An event to plan ahead for is the Jacks Fork Bluegrass Festival in Mountain View on October 19.
Southeast Region, including Cape Girardeau, Farmington, and Poplar Bluff:
Colors are still mainly green. Some sugar maples are showing patches of light orange and red. Sumac and sassafras are turning red. Elms and sycamores are showing some yellow.
Posts
