Overdue aspens, turning tamaracks
Staff phenologist John Latimer leaves no tree unwatched, and he’s noticed that even the late-season color is beginning to fade. The trembling aspens hit their peak color during the last week, a little later than usual: the average date over the last 40 years is Oct. 2.
Its cousin, the bigtooth aspen, has had a particularly vibrant year. Instead of its usual yellows, it displayed red and orange coloration this year (at least in some locations). In a typical year, they reach peak color around Oct. 10: this year, John documented peak color on Oct. 19.
The falling leaves give John the never-ending task of blowing them out of his garage and back to his driveway, where they spend a few days reassembling only to blow right back in. “It’s a game I play with the bigtooth aspen in my yard, and so far, the bigtooth aspen seem to be winning. But I don’t mind,” John said.
Out in local bogs and swamps, the tamaracks have finally turned from green and are racing toward peak color. On Oct. 17, they were more green than yellow: as of Oct. 24, they are almost completely yellow. John had to look carefully to find any needles that were still green.
Habitat does play a role in their timing, however: tamarack trees on high ground are about a week behind their relatives in the bogs.
The silver maple in John’s yard has finally turned completely yellow, although it’s been shedding yellow leaves for a number of weeks now. It is one of a group of trees whose leaves turn yellow and fall off gradually instead of all at once. Because yellow leaves are shed shortly after turning, the tree still appears green well after individual leaves start to turn color: it just looks more and more bare as the weeks go by, until finally, the last of the leaves turn yellow and fall.
Imported individuals
John uses the profusion of leaves from the silver maple as mulch and protective cover for his imported northern catulpa trees, which are native to the Twin Cities area but do not naturally grow as far north as Grand Rapids. John has been carefully insulating them with silver maple leaves each fall to protect them from freezing, and they have thrived! They’re now almost seven feet tall, and John won’t be able to baby them much longer.
Transplanted red maples are still in full color. Most wild red maples in the Grand Rapids area have already dropped most of their leaves, but maples that were brought in and planted along boulevards and in human landscaping still have many vibrant red leaves. This is because these nursery plants were not grown from wild seeds originating from the area: instead, they were pulled from nursery stock originating somewhere more southerly, where the trees can hold their leaves later in the season.
Another example of this phenomenon is a staghorn sumac that John acquired from his local Soil and Water Conservation District. It is clearly from more southerly stock, as it turns red far later than its local compatriots. It hit peak color on Oct. 24, and on average, is at peak color around Oct. 22.
Other imported trees include cottonwoods, which don’t grow as far north as Grand Rapids unless transplanted. These trees are beginning to fleck yellow but are still mostly green.
Weeping willows, another transplanted species, are just now beginning to change color. The native willow trees (e.g., peach-leaved willow, black willow, and crack willow) have already turned yellow, as well as most of the native shrub willows.
Shrubs shrug off their leaves
Oddly, John has found a singular clump of hazels that hasn’t gotten the memo yet about the turning season: it’s still covered in yellow leaves while all its compatriots dumped theirs almost two weeks ago.
Another plant that sticks out in the forest understory right now is the downy arrowwood. These plants have burgundy leaves with spots of yellow and are quite distinctive now among their bare-branched neighbors. You can confirm the identity of this shrub by looking for big teeth along the edges of the leaf and checking the texture: it gets its name from the soft feel of the leaves.
Chokecherries and speckled alders are still holding onto a few green leaves. These plants are a bit odd in that the leaves don’t change color before they drop: instead, the ground around them is littered with seemingly healthy green leaves.
Fly honeysuckle is another plant with leaves still clinging to its branches. This is one of John’s favorite springtime plants: it blooms quite early in the spring and is a favorite of many pollinators. Right now, its leaves are a mix of mottled grey and brown with flecks of yellow.
If you find one, be sure to flag it so you can stop by in spring and admire its brief and beautiful flowering period! The flowers are a favorite of wasps and bumblebees. (Sidenote: the transcription service I use to write these web stories transcribed “bumblebees” as “mumble peas,” my favorite transcription error since “trumpeter swans” became “trauma swans.”)
It’s a good time to spot asparagus plants and flag them for spring! Their bright yellow coloration and distinctive fronds make them easy to find in fall. The tasty stems pop up in spring, but they’re much harder to find at that time of year: a well-placed flag in autumn can make your spring foraging much more enjoyable.
A short bramble ramble
Raspberries and blackberries are beginning to change color. Blackberry leaves tend to turn red or a deep burgundy, while raspberry leaves turn yellow or a faded orange red. In addition to the color, the easiest way to tell the difference between raspberries and blackberries is by the size (and impact) of the thorns.
John’s tip, which I do not recommend, is to grab the stem and pull. “If your hand comes away sort of reddish and kind of slightly abraded, that’s raspberry. If your hand comes away torn, shredded, and bleeding, that’s blackberry,” John helpfully explains.
Similarly, if you walk through a patch of raspberry, it’ll grab at your clothes but allow you to pass. A patch of blackberries will grab on and not let go. However, if you prefer your skin and clothes to remain intact, I'd advise using a light touch - or your eyes - to assess the size and aggressiveness of the thorns. If still uncertain, you're welcome to use one of John’s more direct methods – just don’t blame us for any resulting blood loss.
Plant progression
- Bare-branched: Wild red maple, wild sugar maple, hazels, birch, butternut, smooth sumac, staghorn sumac
- Colored leaves: Yellow/gold (trembling aspen, tamarack, native willow species, raspberry, asparagus, silver maples) red/orange (bigtooth aspen, planted red maple), burgundy (downy arrowwood, blackberry), mottled (fly honeysuckle) green/yellow (red elderberry)
- Beginning to turn color: Cottonwoods, weeping willows
- Blooming: Dandelion, white campion, hoary alyssum, red clover
Assorted animals
John has seen many Dark-eyed Juncos, Fox Sparrows, and American Tree sparrows. He’s also seen a few White-throated sparrows and some starlings. He recommends throwing millet seeds on the ground to attract juncos and sparrows, which tend to prefer foraging on the ground to perching on a feeder.
The young Red-bellied Woodpecker that’s been frequenting John’s feeder is still stopping by, so he’s hoping it will stick around all winter!
John surprised a coyote this week as he was coming home! He knows coyotes frequent his property - he sees them on his trail camera – but he got to see one up close as he arrived home around 8:30 p.m. The coyote streaked through a field and right in front of John’s car, going “90 miles per hour,” according to John, before heading off into the dark to go about its business.
The insect world remains busy, despite the late season. With the student phenologists at West Rapids Elementary School, John found a Compton tortoiseshell butterfly and a meadowhawk dragonfly on Oct. 17. Both were relatively late sightings, though not record-breaking (John found a Compton’s tortoiseshell on Nov. 10, 2005, and a meadowhawk dragonfly on Nov. 12, 2012).
That does it for this week! For more phenology, subscribe to our Season Watch Newsletter or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR)
