How bright will the fall foliage be? Here's why you'll likely see color earlier in New England
Fall is here and it's time to talk about our famous fall foliage in New England.
We could all hope to go out as spectacularly as trees do each autumn. Groves of red, orange, and yellow will soon be speckled across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode island and Connecticut. While we often refer to "peak" foliage season, it normally comes in waves as different trees and regions take their turn, over the course of September, October, and November.
What does this year have in store? I'd say that every fall looks great, but there are tiers of greatness as each year reacts differently to weather and pest influences. When we spoke with Yankee Magazine's foliage expert Jim Salge, he said there are two main stories to follow.
How dry weather affects fall foliage
First up is the drought that, much like last year, has rapidly emerged. Southern New England is dry but probably not dry enough to ruin the show. In fact, dryness is often more desirable than wet weather to bring out the most vibrant colors. So long as we get at least some rain over the next month, we'll be in good shape.
Up north, it may be a larger issue. This summer was one of the driest on record across much of northern New England, which has stressed out some foliage. Salge says one thing you will likely notice is a lack of blueberry shrubs with their auburn glow around the mountains. They have already started to just turn brown and dry up, so in many spots they won't be part of the equation this year.
While forest health is still in good shape, Salge said you will likely see earlier color this year due to the lack of rain and suggests earlier trips to see the color versus the historical average.
"People are staring to see fall color already. What we don't want is for this to progress too much further. We don't want a lot of days where it's really hot and really dry," Salge told WBZ-TV.
Beech leaf disease
The other main story of 2025 is the continuing expansion of beech leaf disease. If you've ever walked through a lovely grove of golden yellow leaves around the base of many forests, beech trees provide much of it. And they may rapidly start disappearing.
If you see a banding of dark and light green on your beech leaves, the tree is infected. The disease is spread by a parasitic worm called a nematode that feasts on the buds of beech trees and eventually saps them of energy and kills them. Mortality rates have been in the area of 40-50% to our west, and it is thought that weather patterns help spread the nematodes in our direction.
Salge said, with hyperbole, that it is time to try to get out and enjoy the beech trees we have while we still have a chance. The forest may change forever, or at least a very long time, in short order as we lose these trees (similar to when Dutch elm disease ruined our supply of these stately trees).
"This beech leaf disease has shown up in the last two or three years and it's spread more rapidly than any pathogen we've seen. This might be the last year for that glowing understory ever. It's just really devastating, the young trees especially in the northern forests," Salge said.
Those are the two main negative factors this year, but there's good news as well. Maple trees are really the hallmark of our foliage, and Salge said they are in great shape. Tar spot is limited this year, and most trees are not having big mast years (where they produce many seeds and have thinner canopies).
Top spot for foliage?
Salge said if he's picking one spot that may top them all, it's the Green Mountains and northern regions of Vermont.
He's targeting late September to the start of October as the best time for this area to shine!