Fall is here. Your trees are still catching up.
One wet summer doesn't undo two dry ones. Drought does its damage underground, and it can take a season or two to show up in the canopy.
Fall officially arrived this week, and for once the Pioneer Valley is going into it with some water in the ground. Back in July we wrote to you about the state declaring a Level 2 drought for Western Mass. The rain that followed changed the picture. On September 10 the state moved the Western region back to normal conditions and downgraded the Connecticut River Valley to a Level 1 mild drought. That's good news, and you're about to see it. Forecasters are calling for one of the better foliage seasons we've had in a few years, with color building through early October and peaking around the middle of the month here in the Valley.
One wet summer doesn't undo two dry ones
The drought that started back in the fall of 2024 did most of its damage where you can't see it. Fine feeder roots die off when the soil stays dry for months, and a tree can't regrow them overnight just because it rained in August. This fall, some trees are going to tell you they're struggling if you know what to look for. Color showing up weeks early on one tree while its neighbors are still green, leaves that brown and drop before they ever turn, and thin patches in the crown are all signs of a tree running low on reserves going into winter. Take a look when you're out raking. A tree that turns early and drops fast is worth having someone look at before spring.
Fall is root season
While the canopy shuts down for the year, the roots are doing some of their most important work. The soil stays warm well into November, long after the air has cooled off, and trees use that window to grow new roots and store energy for spring. That makes fall the best time of year to help a stressed tree recover. If you're in the Connecticut River Valley, where the state still has us in a mild drought, keep giving your mature trees a long, slow soak when it's been dry, right up until the ground freezes. Evergreens especially. They keep losing moisture through their needles all winter, and the ones that go into it thirsty are the ones that come out of it brown.
Get ahead of the first heavy snow
Anyone who was here for the Halloween storm in 2011 remembers what happens when heavy, wet snow lands on trees that still have their leaves. Limbs that would have handled a foot of powder in January came down all over the Valley, and a lot of people were without power for a week or more. An early storm doesn't have to be that bad to do real damage. A few inches of wet snow on a full canopy is plenty to split a weak union or drop a dead limb onto a roof or a power line.
Late fall is also the easiest time of year to see what's going on up there. Once the leaves come down, deadwood, cracked limbs, codominant stems, and hangers left over from summer storms are all in plain view. That's when we like to walk properties, and it's when you want pruning and hazard work done, before snow and ice start putting weight on those branches. Our schedule usually runs a couple of weeks out and it fills up fast once the leaves drop, so if there's a tree you've been meaning to deal with, now is the time to get on the list.
If you want a straight read on how your trees came through this summer and what they need before winter, give us a call at 413-586-1307, email Josh@northeasttreecare.com, or book through the website. We'll walk the property with you and tell you exactly what we're seeing.
Enjoy the color this year. The trees earned it.
