WOODLAND PARK — The fall colors in Colorado’s mountains could be negatively impacted but the sudden September cold and snow. Aspens usually turn their vibrant gold when temperatures gradually change.
"It's going to freeze the sap up in the tree rather than cooling off slowly and that sap getting back to the roots." Mike Spencer with Spencer’s Lawn and Garden says the cold snap dropping temperatures to freezing in just hours after weeks of nineties is hard on all trees. Many trees are already hurting after a dry summer.
Aspens are also stressed by the low water year. Colorado Springs City Forester, Dennis Will thinks it could affect fall colors. “Cooler temperatures coupled with the drought, they’re just not going to do much.”
No one is saying the leaf season is lost for sure, but the cold snap does not help. Leaves could turn dark and just fall. Another possibility is a shortened viewing season. No one is saying the leaf season is lost for sure, but the cold snap does not help. The trees will show the results over the next couple of weeks.
