By Liz King
In recent years, summer droughts, fall fungus and warm autumn temperatures contributed to dull fall foliage.
This year, however, with help from the wet summer, leaf-peepers are already seeing vivid colors, including rare reds, in what is shaping up as one of the best foliage seasons in recent memory.
"The foliage is looking pretty good, pretty bright," said Karen Bennett, forestry specialist and professor at University of New Hampshire cooperative extension. "A few years ago, some pretty bad leaf diseases turned some maples brown, but the wet summer this year led to healthy trees and plenty of good growing."
Jeff "Foliage" Folger, a North Shore photographer who writes a foliage blog for Yankee Magazine's Web site that attracts readers from Sweden to California, said this year's batch of foliage is looking very good overall because of the cooperative weather.
"The rain earlier this year helped the leaves," Folger said. "2006 and 2007 were very dry, well below average rainfall, and that delayed the arrival of color. And then it came and went very quickly."
Locally, trees are only at 8 percent to 15 percent peak foliage and have a ways to go. It's still early, but the cold nights should help.
Folger explains that because Newburyport is near the coast, it normally peaks later than places more inland, like Worcester or even Haverhill.
"The cold arctic air hasn't pushed down yet. The coast is experiencing warm jet stream water," Folger said. "The higher temperature slows down change."
To our north, however, the forests are awash in color.
Tai Freligh, spokesman for the New Hampshire Department of Tourism, said foliage is peaking in the White Mountains and northern New Hampshire this weekend, while Columbus Day weekend will bring more color to the southern part of the state and northern Massachusetts.
Folger just returned from a 400-mile leaf-peeping trip through northern New Hampshire, and noted that foliage in Littleton and Lincoln peaked, and went as far as Grafton and Lebanon.
"I stopped at Beaver Pond, which is surrounded by hills," Folger said. "The hills were all in color and reflected in the pond. I always recommend people pick a spot and just spend some time exploring and learning."
In Massachusetts, the best place to see red and orange trees this weekend is in the Berkshires, where 50 percent to 65 percent of the trees are at their peak color, according to the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.
Cold weather breaks down chlorophyll in leaves, causing the green color to disappear and yellow to orange colors to become visible. Folger explains that extremes in weather also cause abnormalities.
"In 2005, September was unusually rainy, which produced a lot of yellows and russet browns in color," Folger said. "In 2006, a fungus killed color in Maples, leaving brown edges on the leaves."
Though he has seen some brown leaves in Salem and Marblehead due to too much moisture, Folger doesn't predict much disease or dullness in leaves around the area because of the resiliency of trees.
The Massachusetts Department of Travel and Tourism predicts the Merrimack Valley area to peak from Oct. 15 through Oct. 21, just a few days past the busiest foliage viewing time, Columbus Day weekend.
Folger explains that every year has a predominant color, due to weather, moisture, sunlight and other factors. This year, it's a rare bright red, which really pops against a cool day with bright sun.
"My friend was driving along in Vermont and saw this beautiful bright red for the first time and all she could do was smile," Folger said.
Avid leaf-peeper and member of the Friends of Newburyport Trees, Ed Taylor, appreciates the differences between the colors and rates of change in trees. He notes that some ash trees in the area turning already, while ginko trees turn yellow and the leaves can fall within a day. And oaks sometimes take a while to turn, and the leaves won't fall for a long time.
"I think it's kind of magical — we all know the science and that eventually leaves will fall off," Taylor said. "But when it doesn't happen, I feel disappointed. Foliage is good for your mental health."
