Over the weekend one national network news reported on the rather dull foliage colors this year. Before it was over global warming was ending all future colors as we know it. Maybe? I’ll be the first to admit that we had a “disappointing” foliage in New England but I blame the drier conditions and lack of a sustained cold spell. We stick have an array of colors but compared the the best years…. it just isn’t. It has dipped into the 30s and there has been snow in the mountains. But, for the vibrant colors we need two things. The first is plenty of rain during the summer and the other is cold.

Colors come out when the chlorophyll that provides the green (the dominant color) all summer starts to break down. This happens when we have shorter days and cooler nights which tells the trees to shut off the flow of nutrients to their leaves. We have not had the usual cold night temperatures to make this happen and in some cases the leaves are dropping with changing color.

We have a foliage guide in the 2008 Farmers’ Almanac - best viewing times for all regions of the country. If you have a photo of your foliage, send it along. While it has been less vibrant , there is still some good viewing.

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foliage, global warming, temperatures, best viewing times