{"id":49822,"date":"2025-09-15T04:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T09:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/?p=49822"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:24:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T11:24:54","slug":"how-to-see-the-water-in-the-leaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/how-to-see-the-water-in-the-leaves\/","title":{"rendered":"How to See the Water in the Leaves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While pumpkin spice may be polarizing and football rivalries can ruin friendships, there\u2019s a fall activity everyone can get behind: enjoying the changing leaves. Whether you\u2019re hitting the trails or the road for proper leaf peeping \u2014 or just enjoying the view from your living room window \u2014 here are five expert tips for seeing how the water and weather in your community set the tone for fall foliage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early, dull color, followed by a fast leaf drop? That\u2019s drought.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Periods of drought put stress on trees, reducing the energy they need to maintain their foliage. \u201cDuring severe drought, some trees will begin to enter winter dormancy early,\u201d says Amanda Schwabe, outreach specialist for the Wisconsin State Climatology Office<\/a>. That means that the colors will arrive early, but it won\u2019t last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Overlooking Mill Bluff State Natural Area in central Wisconsin during fall color. Photo by Kevin Berger<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Raking up green? Blame the rain.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Waterlogged leaves often end up with fungal diseases, which causes them to drop early. \u201cHeavy rain events during the fall can also knock leaves off of trees as their stems weaken,\u201d Schwabe adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n\"Maple\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Vibrant yellows and oranges? Water played no part.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpecies that turn yellow and orange \u2014 for example, aspen, hickories, ash, and walnut \u2014 will turn basically the same shade every fall,\u201d says Kate McCulloh<\/a>, the Rebecca Blank Professor of Botany and a researcher in the Center for Ecology and the Environment<\/a>. That\u2019s because they\u2019re actually those colors all along \u2014 they\u2019re just so heavily masked by green that we can\u2019t perceive them. Water may affect the timing<\/em>, but it won\u2019t change the color itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bold reds? No drought detected.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For trees and shrubs that turn red, too much rain limits photosynthesis, resulting in duller reds, explains McCulloh. \u201cReds tend to be most brilliant when fall conditions have warm sunny days and cool (but not freezing) nights,\u201d she adds.  (Those cool fall nights \u2014 at least in Wisconsin \u2014 have been shifting; \u201cSince 1950, Wisconsin\u2019s low temperatures during the fall season have warmed by an average of three to five degrees<\/a> across the state,\u201d says Schwabe.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trying to predict prime peeping? It\u2019s complicated.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Theoretically, prime leaf color should line up with the changing seasons; color transitions happen when nights lengthen (i.e. when there\u2019s less sunlight). But our changing climate \u2014 water-related or otherwise \u2014 is shifting the pattern. \u201cEarlier springs caused by the warming climate are associated with earlier leaf fall in many species,\u201d McCulloh notes. Plus, with warmer nights on the rise, trees miss the signal to stop chlorophyll production. \u201cThat leads to later and shorter peaks of fall foliage in many tree species,\u201d says Schwabe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What expert tips do you want next? Email us at <\/em>communications@nelson.wisc.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Up your leaf-peeping game this season by looking at more than just colors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":49838,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[44,34,43],"tags":[35,45],"post_template":[],"class_list":["post-49822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","category-water","category-wisconsin","tag-fall-2025","tag-in-your-environment"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to See the Water in the Leaves | The Commons Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While pumpkin spice may be polarizing and football rivalries can ruin friendships, there\u2019s a fall activity everyone can get behind: enjoying the changing leaves.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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