Friday, September 03, 1999
Dryness' effect on leaf colors still up in the air
BY MIKE PULFER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
It takes a little moisture to make pretty fall leaves. And little is what Tristate trees have been getting.
Rainfall has been below normal every month for the past six, according to statistics at the National Weather Service in Wilmington. The cumulative deficit: nearly 8 inches.
What does that mean for your country drives this fall?
In all likelihood, leaves will a) dry up and turn brown on the branches b) dry up and drop to the ground or c) turn bright golds, oranges and greens as if it had been a normal summer.
“It's really difficult to tell at this point,” says Jim Hansel, director of horticulture at the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati in Avondale. “With the drought, the leaves are kind of in a phase of decline right now.”
But things could change.
“A lot depends on what happens in the next three or four weeks,” he says. “If we get rain, then we'll have a better chance of nice color.”
If not, the season could be dry and dull.
“When trees are very dry, as a protective mechanism, they will drop their leaves early” and save moisture for the next season's buds, Mr. Hansel says. They can “stop pushing sugars to the leaves because there's not enough water ...
“Unfortunately, trees and plants are a lot like people — unpredictable. I remember a few years ago when we had a dry season, then a couple of late rains, and everything was glorious.”
The best days for leaf viewing here should be around the weekend of Oct. 23-24, experts say.
For updates on fall foliage call (800) 225-8747 (Kentucky) after Sept. 20; (800) 282-5393 (Ohio) after Sept. 23, or (317) 232-4002 (Indiana) also after Oct. 1.
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