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Leaf peepers get an early fall treat
By Elise Franco
By Elise Franco
Dry summer weather has fueled an early explosion of color as fall foliage is leaving its annual mark on the Valley.
Drew Todd, state urban forestry coordinator for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said the absence of rainfall in late July and most of August caused the leaves in portions of northern Ohio, mostly in urban areas, to change a week or so prematurely.
The hows and whys of fall colors, Todd explained, has to do with weather patterns.
“As the days change in the fall, the rate of manufacturing of chlorophyll slows down,” he said. “It starts to fade out of the plant and allows the other pigments to show through.”
Janet Mikesell of Boardman, who was relaxing Tuesday near Lake Glacier in Youngstown, said she noticed the early transformation.
“I was just here three days ago, and everything was green,” she said of the now multicolored trees surrounding the lake.
Keith Kaiser, Mill Creek MetroParks horticulture director, said the park lands are some of the best places in the Valley to view the changing leaves.
Kaiser said the purple and burgundy hues already are noticeable on the ash trees, and shades of orange are showing on the sugar maple.
“It’s time for the early fall color, which always comes on the same trees,” he said. “The fall perennials are also blooming, adding a nice contrast with the colors of the tree leaves.”
Kaiser said the leaves usually begin to turn in the last few weeks of September and peak in the first and second week of October.
Todd said sunny days paired with cooler nights help the seasonal progression.
Kaiser said folks walking through the MetroParks and around the Valley are likely to see an abundance of oak, beech, maple and ash trees.
“The sugar maple are the most colorful — reds, orange and yellow,” he said. “The ash are more burgundy and russet, beech are more yellow- and bronze-colored, and oaks are usually later and have more dark russet, brown and dark red leaves.”
Kaiser said fall is a very busy time of year for the MetroParks as people constantly wander through the gardens and along trails, taking in the scenery.
“The overlook at the South Terrace is probably one of the nicest views to watch the season progress,” he said. “Walking on the bike trail gives you a more distant view.”
Kaiser said he thinks people enjoy autumn so much because it marks the changing of the season.
“Especially after this kind of summer, people love those cooler nights, and it’s kind of a slowing down time of year,” he said. “It’s fall, and it’s a centuries-long tradition that the plants are going dormant, and the people are connected to the plants.”
Mikesell said fall is her favorite time of year and visits Lake Glacier daily.
“I’m literally here every day because this place is my sanity,” she said. “I absolutely love it, all the colors.”
Mikesell said she and her husband, Richard, were married in October outside in Boardman Park for that very reason.
“It was perfect and the prime fall time,” she said. “The sun was beautiful and warm, just like today, and everything was turning.”