TREES IN THE AREA SOON TO BE IN FULL GLORY FOR FALL SEASON

This weekend should be a colorful one in the hills of Southeast Missouri. In Southern Illinois, the fall colors will begin the following weekend and continue for about two to three weeks.

Rick Kammler, assistant district forester with the Missouri Conservation Department's Perryville district office, said trees in the eastern foothills of the Ozarks are now approaching their peak fall colors.

"This weekend will be one of the best for fall color in the hill country, although it should still be colorful throughout the rest of the month," said Kammler. "We've had adequate amounts of moisture most of the year. The trees have not been under a lot of stress from heat and drought. It's going to be great for a drive or a weekend campout in one of our parks."

Tom Hagerty, spokesman for the National Forest Service at Harrisburg, Ill., said the forest is just now starting to color up in Union and Alexander counties and along the Ohio River in the southeast corner of the state.

"The time for peak color this year will come toward the end of October and the first week of November," he said. "Of course, that depends on the weather. If it turns cold and stays cold, it would accelerate the coloring process; if it stays warm, it will delay it by several days. Either way, the next three or four weekends should be a great time for a drive through the forest or a weekend camping trip. The weather is cooler, the humidity is lower and now you can enjoy the fall colors as well."

Charles Korns, horticulturist at Southeast Missouri State University, said the weather has been ideal for fall colors: lots of bright, sunny days and clear, cool nights.

Korns said the hardwood forests in the eastern Ozarks are the first in Southeast Missouri to turn from now through the end of October. "That's because they're farther north of us and at a higher elevation," he explained.

Kammler said weather conditions this fall seem to be prolonging the coloring process. He said: "It appears Mother Nature is dragging out the coloring process longer this year. Instead of all the trees turning at the same time, maybe only one or two are turning. But that's okay because it will make the fall color season last longer, if the weather conditions continue as they have."

The peak season for fall color around Cape Girardeau traditionally is from mid-to-late October, Korns said. "If you take a tour along Highway 72 toward Fredericktown and out to Ironton, Arcadia and Piedmont between now and the end of October, you'll get a preview of what's coming to this area later in the month."

Korns said most of the trees in the city color up later than those in the woods because of the town's natural heat. There are some notable exceptions, however, as evidenced by some maples that have already turned a brilliant orange or yellow.

Trees that traditionally produce the brightest colors are dogwood, hickory, sugar maple, red maple, pin oak, scarlet oak, and the sweet gum, which produces a riot of bright reds, purples and yellows.

Besides the trees, Korns said the burning shrubs usually live up to their names at this time of year as they begin to turn brilliant red in lawns and gardens.

Korns cautioned that poison ivy and poison oak, which produce bright red and orange colors during the fall, are just as potent now as they were during the spring and summer.

Kammler said his favorite fall color tour starts at the intersection of Highway 61 and Route C north of Fruitland and goes along Route C through New Wells to Frohna in the east Perry County hill country.

"Trail of Tears State Park is also a great place to view the fall colors because of the different varieties of hardwoods and smaller trees," he said.

Another excellent fall color tour during October is the drive along Highway 72 from Cape Girardeau to Fredericktown, then west to Ironton and Arcadia, south to Piedmont, then east on Highway 34 to Marble Hill, and back to Cape Girardeau. The tour includes parts of the Mark Twain National Forest.

Across the Mississippi River in Union and Alexander counties, another source of fall color is the Shawnee National Forest. Of particular interest is a drive along the ridge of the Pine Hills-LaRue Ecological Wildlife Area between Wolf Lake and Big Muddy River. The ridge road winds its way through steep hills ablaze with color by mid-October. At several places along the road, stops provide spectacular views of the Mississippi River valley. To get to the road, take Highway 3 to Wolf Lake, turn right on the Union County Nursery Road, and watch for the Pine Hills ridge road on the left, about one-mile east of the railroad tracks.

The Murphysboro ranger station in Shawnee National Forest has produced a fall-color tour guide that gives directions for a number of forest tours on the west and east sides of the state. For more information about the guide, call the office at 1-618-687-1713, or stop by the U.S. Forest Service office on Route 149 at the west edge of Murphysboro.