The Upper Cumberland’s fall foliage may look a little muted this year, due in part to the recent dry spell.
Putnam Area Forrester Jeff Thomson said there have also been some especially warm days over the last several weeks. Thomson said good moisture with cooler fall days ranging in the 70s proves best for leaf color.
“They’re trying to conserve their energy,” Thomson said. “So they might, instead of holding on to their, if we had a cooler winter year, they would hold on to their leaves a longer amount of time, they could grow more. But now they’re reacting to this dry spell by just shedding those leaves instead of keeping them for as long as they could.”
Thomson said that the dry spell is also concerning because of the fire risk. Fall is usually the peak fire season across our region. Thomson said the fall of the leaves contributes directly to the fire season and that their dryness can increase fire chances.
“Once they hit the ground obviously they’re going to lose all their moisture over time and be a lot dryer,” Thomson said. “That’s what starts fires are fine fuels like that, leaves and little twigs that are loose in moisture also.”
Thomson said citizens can work to water their yards and surrounding foliage to combat soil dryness near them.
“Water it just enough before it would start to pool,” Thomson said. “Because you don’t want pooled water but you want to get right to that point where the soil is starting to get saturated.”
As for the leaves, more rain like Fridays will help the colors, but Thomson said the forecast does not look promising.
The post Recent Dry Spell May Cause Less Color From Upper Cumberland Leaves appeared first on News Talk 94.1/AM 1600.