Foliage viewers could pay a price for summer heat

Colors may not be as vibrant as past years, ODNR official warns.

Area residents will soon be seeing a much different backdrop in their neighborhoods, as fall color change happens when the daylight hours shorten and the temperatures get cooler.

The chlorophyll production breaks down and the rich colors of yellows, golds, reds and purple emerge, experts explained. Trees want to pull the nutrients back into the roots to help fuel them into the winter.

As the fall color season continues and temperatures drop further, the tree then produces an abscission layer which eventually cuts the leaf off from the stem.

At this point, all it would take is a light breeze or rain for the leaves to fall. Once on the ground, the leaves will decompose, and the roots of the tree will take in the remaining nutrients.

Ohio Department of Natural Resource’s Urban Forestry Program Manager Tyler Stevenson said a hot and drier summer can stress trees.

“I wouldn’t say that the wet would impede. In fact, I think it would help. The drought kind of shortens our fall color experience,” Stevenson said.

The biggest factor for the best fall color is the change in daylight hours and temperature. Colors will be vibrant when we have temperatures at night in the low 50s or upper 40s and bright sunny days.

Leaves will continue to change through the month, but may not be as vibrant as past years.

ODNR foresters say the northern third of the state will get peak colors near the middle of the month. The central third, which includes the Miami Valley, peaks towards the end of October, usually around Oct 22.

The far southern part of the state typically can peak at the end of the month through early November. Once colors do change, windy or rainy weather can cause a quick drop of leaves.

ODNR has more information about state parks to visit and the types of trees you can identify the colors for on their website: ohiodnr.gov.