Did you know our Parks Department cares for 8,500 street trees, 3,100 park trees, and 150 acres of forested parkland? While Mother Nature is just beginning to paint the town red — and orange, and yellow — our city arborists have been busy all summer long. Warren Spinner is the man in charge of trees, and we took a moment of his time for a brief Q&A about the changing colors of Burlington’s trees.

Q: Did our region have good summer weather conditions that will promote great color?

A: Our summer weather was okay with a good balance of rain and sunny weather. Our below average rainfall in September has stressed the trees slightly which has started the fall color and leaf drop early in some areas, but otherwise the fall color should be good.

Q: What causes the leaves to change anyway? Is it amount of water, changing temperature, decreasing sunlight?

A: Fall color in our trees is triggered by shortened autumn days that are bright and cool with nights that are chilly but not below freezing. When this occurs the brightest colorations usually develops

Q: Where do you recommend is the best city park for leaf peeping?

A: Ethan Allen and Leddy Parks typically have better fall color because of their great diversity of trees. I would also recommend exploring our city neighborhoods, they also have a great diversity of trees and can be very colorful as well.

And if you’re wondering what happens with our city trees when winter comes ’round, check out this interview from Seven Days:

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/city-arborist-warren-spinner/Content?oid=2518781