Short and sweet: Why fall colors could be intense, but brief this year

Asked to name her favorite autumnal display, Christy Rollinson, a senior scientist at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, has a ready answer: 2022.

“It was an absolutely amazing color year,” said the forest ecologist, who attributes that year’s spectacle in part to a temperate summer that put minimal stress on trees receiving the cues — shorter days, cooler temperatures — that trigger the process that turns leaves from green to scarlet, russet and gold.

The process, called senescence, begins in August and September, but changes aren’t visible until late September, according to Rollinson. The brightest colors in this region are usually visible in mid to late October, she added.

When it comes to predicting this year’s pageant, palette and timing, experts offer no guarantees, but expect fall colors to arrive later than usual.

Rollinson attributes the delay to extreme summer weather, which commenced with dry spells and concluded with massive storms. Those events, coupled with an atypically warm fall resulting from a predicted El Niño, will impact the fall color season, she said.

Jacob Burns, the Chicago Botanic Garden’s curator of plant collections, agrees. He anticipates fall color will be “sporadic at first with a compressed finale” resulting in “a short window of beautiful fall color.”

He expects a more condensed fall color season that develops rapidly, with leaves beginning to turn in early November.

“It all depends on the weather,” he added. “Shorter days signal trees to prepare for winter, but the temperature hasn’t gotten cool enough to make the process of color change unfold.”

Burns reminds enthusiasts that “fall color isn’t really one event.”

The Chicago Botanic Garden’s maple trees and sumacs already are changing color while other trees and plants are still fully green, he said.

As Rollinson notes, colors started appearing in select trees in high-light, high-stress environments such as parking lots in late August and early September.

Rollinson and Burns acknowledge that Illinois isn’t a popular destination for “leaf peepers” or fall color enthusiasts, mainly because its native species don’t produce the kind of dazzling fall foliage characteristic of the Upper Midwest and Northeast.

Still, a magnificent array may be on the way.

And homeowners can contribute to future fall displays, experts say, by planting specific trees and shrubs in their own yards. Burns recommends the serviceberry, sumac, fothergilla and Japanese maple, all of which add a pop of color in the fall and are available at garden centers.

Diversity is key, Rollinson said.

“Trees relate to their environment in different ways,” she said, adding that homeowners can check the Morton Arboretum at mortonarb.org for tips on selecting the right tree.

bvitello@dailyherald.com