Fall leaves set to show true colors
Get ready. Mother Nature is gearing up for one of her favored Ta-Da moments: fall foliage.
“Pennsylvanians like to see the things change as we move from one season to the next,” said Cecile Stelter, a forester with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “It's exciting to see everything turn from green to a palate of colors.”
While most of the area's deciduous offerings are still green, autumn's sunny days and cool, dry nights will cue leaves to prepare for winter. Chlorophyll, which absorbs red and blue light and masks leaves in a green hue, wanes as the days grow shorter.
“Then, colors that already were there in the leaves shine through,” said Eric Best, environmental education specialist at Jennings Environmental Education Center in Brady Township. “It's a revealing of what was there all along.”
Butler County, experts say, is amid prime leaf-viewing terrain. Western Pennsylvania has a large number and wide variety of trees — 134 species — as well as topography with elevations ranging from sea level to more than 3,000 feet.
“We are the best place in the world to watch the fall,” Best said.
Stelter said a great way to see the show is to take a walk in the woods or a drive down a back road.
Jack Cohen, Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau president, notes his agency will provide maps for two “driving tours” in the county that participants can navigate at their leisure. One highlights the trail George Washington took through the county, and the other highlights regional barns.
“And don't forget Moraine State Park,” Cohen said. “With how beautiful it is? Who wouldn't want to go there?”
The Moraine Preservation Fund also offers Fall Foliage Cruises on Lake Arthur Saturdays and Sundays through the end of October. Call 724-368-9185 for more information.
You don't have to be an expert to know the local leaf palate is impressive.
Early turners, such as native vine Virginia Creeper, already have made the transition to red.Hickory will turn vivid gold and yellow.Within a grove of sassafras trees, the colors can range from yellow to salmon and vermilion.Black gum gets “really crimson, like a glowing crimson,” Best said.Oaks, which turn later, will be red, brown or burgundy purple depending on the season.Within one sugar maple leaf there can be a full spectrum of yellows, reds and oranges“Sugar maple unites the forest, the orchestra,” Best said.Stelter says Butler County can expect to see a fall foliage peak beginning the week of Oct. 14.The DCNR has weekly fall foliage reports on its website at: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/fallfoliage/index.htm.Extra cold nights that include some frost, like the area has had recently, could dampen the vibrancy of the season's colors.If you'd like to boost the color spectrum in your own yard, the Arbor Day Foundation is offering 10 free trees if you join in October: Two sugar maples, two red maples and one each of scarlet oak, sweet gum, northern red oak, silver maple, white flowering dogwood and Washington hawthorn.The trees will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting, between Nov. 1 and Dec. 10. The 6- to 12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free. Planting instructions will be enclosed with each shipment of trees.To join, send a $10 membership fee to Autumn Classics Trees, Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska City, NE 68410, by Oct. 31, or join online at arborday.org/october.
