With the turn of the season just around the corner, striking fall colors will soon pepper Lincoln’s canopy.
Of course, it difficult to predict the onset of fall foliage with 100% accuracy. Forest Health Specialist with Nebraska Forest Service Laurie Stepanek tells KLIN News, it’s kind of like predicting the weather.
” Every year is different… You never quite know until it’s right there,” Stapanek says. “Whether we’re going to have a good fall color, will depend a lot on our temperatures and the presence of good sunny weather.”
Lincoln and greater Lancaster County has had plenty “good sunny weather”… maybe even too much. After a particularly dry summer, according to Stepanek, leaves can develop a brownish color representing “leaf death” on their edges, referred to as “scorch.”
“The amount of scorch can certainly impact the resulting fall colors, because those nice colors can’t manifest in the dead, scorched tissue of the leaves.” she explained. “Conversely, if we have a lot of rain in the summer, that can lead to leaf diseases, which basically cause the leaves to turn brown and drop early.”
Despite observing some scorch in the trees this year, Stepanek believes Lincoln’s canopy appears to be in good shape this year with some potential for good color.
For that potential to become reality, we’ll need some cool nights and nice bright, sunny days. Stepanek explains that this combination helps break down the green pigment in leaves, allowing those yellow and orange hues, which are already present, to emerge.
“The Cottonwoods are starting to show a little bit of yellow, same with Honey Locust. There’s some really nice Ginkgo Trees already showing some color change,” says Stepanek, adding that peak for fall foliage may come a little early this year. Southeastern Nebraska’s peak is typically in October. “Some of our Oak Trees are already dropping acorns, and it’s a little bit early for that this year. That might suggest that we get a little bit of earlier color in our canopy this year.
If you need a good destination for fall color sight seeing, Stepanek recommends many of the university campuses around Lincoln, such as UNL’s Earl G. Maxwell Arboretum on East Campus, Nebraska Wesleyan’s Alice Abel Arboretum, or Union Adventist University’s Joshua C. Turner Arboretum.
“A lot of the college campuses have some really nice tree plantings with lots of variety,” she says.
Throughout the county, several public parks are home to lush arboretums, like the Taylor Park Arboretum (S 66th St & Taylor Park Dr.), the Prairie Pines Nature Preserve northeast of Lincoln, or Wayne Park in the city of Waverly.
“Wherever you’re located, I’m sure there’s a park, arboretum,or a college campus that you can visit and see some really nice color,” Stepanek said.
The 2024 Fall Foliage Map below by SmokyMountains.com can help travelers better time their trips to have the best opportunity of catching peak color and plan their autumn adventures.