Trees changing already?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Hope everyone has a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving!
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
I've noticed a lot of tulip popular, walnut, and maple have started changing. I have a lot of walnut trees on my farm and they been dropping walnuts for a month now.
 
Chokecherry shrubs have changed at this early point, but that's normal for them. There's also one variety of apple tree that's been dropping apples for a couple weeks. No signs on the maples yet.

A week and a half ago, I was riding a ZTR mower when a shagbark hickory dropped a decent sized nut that hit me square on the knee cap. Snofagun, that hurt!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: PA. Woodsman
Ours have started, but up until last week we saw upper90's and no rain for over a month.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
My honey locust is dropping pods, apple tree way out back is dropping small apples. This is my first year in the house so I'm not sure if that's all normal, but everything including apples/pods are still quite green. Haven't noticed any color changes in anything else yet, but it's looking to be a pretty mild August which is fine with me. Last August was the total opposite, 90s every day. I think that was my first true taste of seasonal depression.
 
we had upper 90s for a long time, now it has been raining for the last few days. My grass hasn't been this green in a while! all of those terrible elm suckers love it though... grrrrrrrr
 
We have had so much rain this summer a swear our stuff is just getting greener and bigger, my flowers aren't doing to hot though, to much water is starting to yellow them out.
 
Everything is still green up this way.
 
We have had so much rain this summer a swear our stuff is just getting greener and bigger, my flowers aren't doing to hot though, to much water is starting to yellow them out.


Be thankful! It hadn't been this dry here since 2012. Farmers will only be getting one cut this year instead of two.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Be thankful! It hadn't been this dry here since 2012. Farmers will only be getting one cut this year instead of two.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It was so wet that farmers had to delay planting here because the fields were a total mud pit. Either way can delay or prevent harvest.

Not much turning here. It was super wet till just 2 wks ago and now no rain for days. I'll take it!!!!!! I've been putting off projects because I can't get heavy equipment into parts of my property till now.
 
Aside from the neighbor's Tulip Poplar which turns color every July the trees and everything else is still green, including the garden which make me happy! We have had a very wet year so far and then Mother Nature turns on the sun and heat and man everything is going gangbusters, cutting the grass every 5 or 6 days so far, no drought so far this year!
 
I have noticed the horse chestnut turning, along with the sycamores when out with the dogs. A lot of acorns and pine cones on the ground.

We have had a really hot June, a so-so July and a wet/chilly August. After the early spring, it feels like all the seasons are about one-two months out of sync.
 
i noticed my neighbors oak tree had some leaves turning brown, but it looked more like a disease or something rather than the normal color change. I will try and get a picture.
 
Just discussing that very issue at a party this weekend. Definitely starting to change early here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Comparing conditions across the board might be interesting. This year was bad for gypsy moths but we also had good rainfall after two years of drought.
 
So it isn't necessarily an early fall. If a maple is changing 2 months ahead of schedule, or most any other tree within reason (some drop earlier etc), odds are good the tree is in some form of distress.

Most people who are saying everything is great and normal most likely have had a moderately wet summer.
Here in Maine (it's a big state so this is not true for everyone, I am in midcoast area) we had one inch of rain in July. Regular temps in the 80's and 90's (on the coast, inland was warmer). That was enough to put my area into a severe drought.
When the trees are thirsty and getting beat by the sun they respond by dropping foliage. I've got some maples changing here and there but nothing substantial yet.
Last August we were in an extreme drought and I was away for 4 days, came home and a maple had dropped probably 30-40% of it's foliage.
But hey maybe I'll be cooking maple syrup in January this year
 
  • Like
Reactions: CentralVAWoodHeat
Looking pretty plush here in Michiana currently.....

Very dry June, very wet July, and no precip in August thus far
and the 7 day forecast showing no rain at all either. Looks like
an early color change is around the next bend.....

CheapMark
 
All our trees are nice and green except for some pines that have bark beetle and one big elm in my pasture that started turning yellow in July and has lost a lot of leaves since then. I do not know if it is dutch elm disease (it is a winged elm) or effects from the drought last summer.
 
Tulip poplars have started changing and dropping leaves. They do this time every year due to heat and drought.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
We finally got rain here last Sunday and again this morning. Nice soaking rain at that! Still ahead for the year due to the ridiculous amount of rain we had in the spring. But we are something like -5" over the past three months.