WATCHING WILL BE, TOO. SO LET’S JUST NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT RIGHT? WE’LL STAY IN THE HERE
AND NOW. WE’RE TALKING FALL
COLORS, WHICH IS, OF COURSE,
THE NEXT BIG THING THAT WE’RE
LOOKING FORWARD TO AS THE
SEASON HAS CHANGE AND SEEING
ALL THE REDS AND THE YELLOWS
AND THE ORANGES IN OUR TREES,
IT’S WONDERFUL.
>> BUT THERE WAS A CONCERN THE
LEAVES MIGHT LOOK A LITTLE
DIFFERENT THIS YEAR. LET’S GET
TO ASHLEY TO EXPLAIN WHAT’S
GOING ON WITH THE FALL COLORS
THIS YEAR.
>> YEAH, SO I’M ACTUALLY GOING
BACK TO THE SUMMER BEFORE WE
LOOK AHEAD TO THE REST OF FALL.
SO WE HAVE SEEN A DIRECT IMPACT
ON OUR AIR QUALITY IN DETROIT
THIS YEAR FROM CANADIAN
WILDFIRES. FOR PERSPECTIVE OF
METRO, DETROIT HAS HAD 21 AIR
QUALITY ALERT DAYS THIS YEAR.
SO FAR. SO COMPARING THAT TO
THE LAST FIVE YEARS, WE USUALLY
AVERAGE ABOUT 5 TO 10 DAYS A
YEAR. SO WE HAVE DOUBLED, IF
NOT QUADS, TRIPLED THAT NUMBER
DUE TO FINE PARTICULATE MATTER
THAT WAS PUSHED INTO LOWER
MICHIGAN FROM CANADA. SO THAT
GOT ME THINKING. WELL, ALL THAT
SMOKY SUNSHINE THIS YEAR AFFECT
HOW VIBRANT OUR FALL COLORS
WILL BE SINCE THE PERFECT
FORMULA INCLUDES BRIGHT SUNNY
DAYS IN LATE SUMMER AND EARLY
FALL. SO I WENT TO AN EXPERT
FALL COLOR IS REALLY TRIGGERED
BY THE DAY LENGTH AND JUST LIKE
CLOCKWORK. DOUG CONLEY,
HORTICULTURE LEAD AT U OF M’S
MATTHAI BOTANICAL GARDENS AND
NICHOLS ARBORETUM BELIEVES THAT
OUR CHANGE IN COLOR IS PRETTY
MUCH ON TIME.
>> WHAT WE’RE SEEING IS THE
NORMAL SEQUENCING OF FALL
COLOR. THE WALNUTS HAVE STARTED
TO COLOR UP SOME OF THE EARLY
MAPLES ARE COMING ON AND THE
NORMAL PIECES ARE HAPPENING.
>> SMOKY MOUNTAINS.COM PUTS OUT
AN ANNUAL FALL FOLIAGE
FORECAST. AND THIS IS HOW THEY
PREDICT IT WILL TIME OUT
COMPARED TO CLIMATE DATA FROM
YEARS PAST. PUTTING US NEAR
PEAK BY OCTOBER 11TH AND PEAK
BY MID TO LATE OCTOBER WITH
COOLER TEMPERATURES AND SHORTER
DAYLIGHT HOURS, THE TREES
CHLOROPHYL BEGINS TO BREAK DOWN
, LEAVING CHEMICALS THAT
RESULTS IN COLOR CHANGES LIKE
YELLOW, ORANGE AND RED. BUT IT
TAKES SUNNY DAYS TO REALLY GET
THOSE COLORS TO POP. AND
UNPRECEDENTED WILDFIRE SMOKE
FILTERED QUITE A BIT OF OUR
SUNSHINE THIS PAST SUMMER, BUT
DOUG DOESN’T ANTICIPATE THAT
HAVING MUCH OF AN IMPACT ON THE
VIBRANCY.
>> I THINK WE’RE FAR ENOUGH
AWAY FROM WHERE THOSE WERE
OCCURRING THAT THE IMPACT ON
FALL COLOR IS GOING TO BE
MINIMAL, THOUGH IT MIGHT BE
MINIMAL.
>> YOU CERTAINLY CAN’T IGNORE
THAT. CANADA REPORTED OVER 6000
WILDFIRES THIS YEAR, SO MUCH SO
THAT WE HAVE EVEN BEEN ABLE TO
SMELL THE SMOKE ACROSS METRO
DETROIT FROM THE FINE
PARTICULATE MATTER IN THE AIR.
>> THAT’S ASH IN SOME WAY. AND
SOMETIMES WE ADD POTASH TO OUR
PLANTS TO AS A AS AN AMENDMENT
. BUT IN THESE SITUATIONS, I’M
NOT SAYING THIS WAS HEALTHY OR
GOOD FOR THE PLANT. I’M ALSO
NOT SAYING IT WAS BAD
NECESSARILY.
>> PLUS, FOR THE FALL COLOR TO
BE MORE FAB THAN DRAB, YOU ALSO
NEED THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF
MOISTURE.
>> AFTER THE WILDFIRES. WE DID
HAVE THOSE RAINS AND ANYTHING
THAT MIGHT HAVE LANDED ON THESE
PLANTS THAT WOULD HAVE FILTERED
SUNLIGHT AND ITS ABILITY TO
PHOTOSYNTHESIZE WOULD HAVE BEEN
WASHED OFF IN THOSE SITUATIONS
.
>> INTERESTING. WELL, THAT’S A
RELIEF.
>> YEAH. SO I MEAN, PROMISING
NEWS FOR SURE.
>> ONE THING THAT I LEARNED
FROM DOUG THAT WAS REALLY
INTERESTING, A LOT OF TIMES
WE’RE LOOKING AT THE FALL COLOR
THROUGH OUR WINDSHIELDS AND OUR
CARS. AND SO YOU MIGHT START TO
SEE THE CHANGE OF COLORS CLOSE
TO THE ROADWAYS, WHICH I NOTICE
ALL THE TIME WHEN I’M DRIVING
HOME FROM WORK. AND A LOT OF
THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE FACT
THAT THERE IS MORE POLLUTION
CLOSE TO THE FREEWAYS AND THE
ROADS, WHETHER IT’S SALT OR
IT’S THE POLLUTION FROM YOUR
VEHICLES. AND THAT CAN BE A
STRESSOR ON THE PLANTS. SO YOU
START TO SEE THE COLOR CHANGING
ALONG THE ROADSIDE A LITTLE
EARLIER THAN MAYBE DEEPER INTO
THE FOREST.
>> OH, WOW. YEAH I WAS JUST
GLAD THIS WAS ON YOUR RADAR.
>> I WONDER HOW MANY OTHER
PEOPLE WERE WONDERING ABOUT IF
THERE WOULD BE THAT KIND OF
DOMINO EFFECT.
>> RIGHT. BECAUSE THE SMOKY
FILTERED SUNSHINE SIGN TO ME
SEEMED VERY MUCH LIKE AN
OVERCAST DAY. YEAH. FILTERING
OUT THE SUN.
>> WELL, WE KNOW THAT WE COUNT
ON THE FALL COLORS. I HAVE MANY
FRIENDS THAT ARE TAKING TRIPS
UP NORTH TO GO SEE IT, SO IT’S
GOOD TO KNOW IT’S SECURE AND
IT’LL BE BEAUTIFUL. RIGHT
>> AND WE STILL HAVE SOME TIME,
A FEW WEEKS UNTIL WE GET TO
PEAK, AS WE WERE MENTIONING.
BUT WE’RE STARTING TO SEE THE
CHANGE ALREADY. SO THIS IS ONE
OF THE GREAT MY PICK PHOTOS
THAT WAS SENT IN. AND SO, OF
COURSE, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE
YOUR FALL PICTURES AND YOU CAN