Post date: 10/06/2020
Sorry for being a day late, but I ran out of hours yesterday! I need more than 24 hrs to get everything done in a day!I’ve divided my report into two parts: one focuses on the urban trees that are showing great colors now, and the other shows off what I found on Sunday at Beacon Heights and along the Parkway.The most common urban tree for fall color is the red maple, and most are in full color now in Boone. There are numerous varieties available that are marketed by nurseries with names like Autumn Blaze, October Glory, Red Sunset, and Brandywine. Autumn Blaze and Red Sunset are probably the...
Post date: 09/28/2020
Wow, somebody hit the color switch this week! From Thursday to Sat, the colors just popped out all around Boone and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. This cool weather has really jump started the fall color season for us this year. Between Boone and Grandfather Mountain there is noticeable color, maybe even up to 20% in some places, and it is progressing quickly. The next two days will be warm, but then after some rain on Monday and Tuesday, we are supposed to get some of our coldest weather yet, and that should push the trees to color up quickly after that happens. I got up early today and...
Post date: 09/21/2020
Today was just spectacular – deep blue skies, low humidity, and most importantly, low temperature. It was 39F at my home this morning and tomorrow it is supposed to get down to 34F! These are the perfect conditions for jump-starting the fall foliage season. Cool temperatures, especially night temperatures, sunny skies, and low humidity (actually we don’t know how humidity affects fall leaf colors!) are what we need for bright fall colors and for those colors to be timed near the long-term average dates. If things keep up like this, we’ll be back to normal timing. However, I do hear the...
Post date: 09/21/2020
Here's a nice article from the Washington Post about fall colors. Also, the Foliage Network, which I usually mention in my posts, is not doing forecasts this year because they couldn't find enough people to do them. That's somewhat depressing! But yours truly will be going out to check on the NC mountains for you.You can also follow forecasts at Our State Magazine on their website at: https://www.ourstate.com/our-favorite-north-carolina-fall-mountain-views/Here's the Washington Post article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/ready-fall-this-tool-will-tell-you-exactly-when-...
Post date: 09/14/2020
Last weekend during the Labor Day Holiday I was visiting my son and his wife near Atlanta. While I was there, we all hiked up to the top of Kennesaw Mountain in the National Battlefield to take in the views and check out the plants. As you might expect in metro-Atlanta, there weren’t any signs of fall leaf color yet, and what surprised me was that the visitor center had azaleas in full bloom! If you haven’t been to this national monument, it is worth the trip. The hike to the top is not too rigorous and you get a great view of the Atlanta skyline, Buckhead and Stone Mountain. Confederate...
Post date: 08/31/2020
Today I traveled on the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Bamboo Road intersection just north of Blowing Rock, all the way to the Lump Rock Overlook in Ashe County, about 20 miles north of where it crosses US 421. It is at this overlook where you can read the story of Tom Dula, who was hanged in 1868 for killing Laura Foster two years earlier and who was from nearby Wilkes County. It has been said that he was innocent of the murder, and so there is some controversy about what really happened back then. The Kingston Trio made this episode famous with their 1958 song “Hang Down Your Head Tom...
Post date: 08/24/2020
Here's my report for the week of August 23rd. To sum it up: not much happening yet with the trees, aside from dogwoods turning deep burgundy now (they will hold their leaves well into October), and the occasional urban red or sugar maple starting to turn color and lose leaves.Most of what's happening now is a profusion of late flowering herbaceous plants, like green-headed coneflower, Joe-Pye weed, Ironweed, black-eyed Susans, Chickory, and many others. It's been a good year for flowers in the High Country, probably because we have had moderate temperatures and plenty of rain. You...
Post date: 08/24/2020
I always say that the weather during September is critical for determining the quality and timing of fall leaf colors here in the mountains of North Carolina.The long-term 30 day forecast from NOAA is equivocal - about an equal chance of being slightly above or slightly below normal. Not a great prediction, but if it turns out close to this, i.e., near normal, then we may return to a normally timed fall leaf color peak, which for the Boone-Blowing Rock area would be mid-October (12-18th).We'll just have to wait and see!
Post date: 08/17/2020
.A short bonus post. The dogwoods have already started turning colors. In fact, they started about a week or so ago. Don't worry, fall leaf colors are not coming early this year - dogwoods do this slow turn every year.Some of the yellow buckeyes though, are starting to drop their leaves too - they normally are among the first to lose leaves in the fall - it's just built into their genes, but they also get a leaf fungus that causes premature leaf drop.
Post date: 08/17/2020
This report marks the 13th consecutive year of fall leaf color reporting by the Fall Color Guy. I started reporting in 2008 and it is truly remarkable how quickly the years have gone by. I also have been doing this long enough that I can go back and look for patterns in the timing of the fall color peak for each year to see how it has changed over time. I will work up a report on that and post it later this month.I feel under some obligation to provide some guidance and advice for those of you contemplating coming up to the High Country to do your fall leaf looking, given the situation with...