Anyone itching to sip pumpkin spice lattes during sweater weather and go leaf peeping will be happy to hear that the forecast for this year’s fall foliage is “vibrant.”
That’s according to Aaron Cook, a forester with the Maryland Forest Service.
“We had a wet spring, a reasonably wet beginning to summer and a somewhat normal winter leading into the spring,” he said, adding that those are all conditions that have kept the region’s trees in good shape heading into the fall.
John Seiler, professor of forest biology at Virginia Tech, agreed, saying the conditions were “really good, we didn’t have any extended dry spells.”
But both Seiler and Cook said August was dry, and so far September has followed suit.
“I’m somewhat concerned by the flash drought that’s taken ahold here in the last months of August into September,” Cook said.
Both said, at this point, the peak foliage season particularly for the Blue Ridge and Catoctin Mountain regions should fall around Oct. 25. That shifts a bit depending on the weather and what region of each state you’re considering for your foliage spotting.
As to just how colorful a season is ahead, Seiler said there’s no such thing as a bad fall foliage season, just “good, better, best.”
“I think we’re heading for a better or best, it depends on what happens in the next four weeks,” he added.
Seiler explained that the species of the trees in the landscape is the deciding factor behind some of the trees’ different colors.
“Black gum and sourwood and scarlet oak, those always and only can turn red,” he said. “Hickories and birches and yellow poplar only turn yellow — it’s in their genetics.”
“Red maple is super interesting,” he added. “It can be red, it can be yellow, and it’s often red and yellow in the same tree and in the same leaf.”
Seiler recommended taking in the fall foliage by taking a “nice little drive” through the Blue Ridge Mountains. He noted that the peak may come earlier to that region because of the elevation.
Cook said the Catoctin Mountains can feature dramatic fall color, but also said, “There’s lots of trails on the Frederick City watershed that also connect to Gambrills State Park.”
“I would say leave the car and hit a trail,” he said.