Fall colors have been starting to show at the beginning of October, but the Iowa Department of Natural Resources estimates that now is the perfect time for peak fall leaf colors in the Raccoon Valley Radio area.

According to the DNR, Greene, Dallas and Guthrie Counties are all right around the second to third weeks in October for peak fall colors, with Dallas and Guthrie Counties going through next week. Jefferson Trees Forever Coordinator Brad Riphagen says there is a wide range of colors out there right now, including some trees that don’t really show off a fall color.

“Some of the things like elms and so forth never get (a) very beautiful color, they kind of turn brown and just drop off. They might have a little yellow in them but some trees just don’t get a color like others, and so it’s just part of their genetics and makeup. Sometimes it depends on the landscape they’re sitting in too and the aspect they’re seeing the world from, whether they’re exposed, whether they got other trees around them, different things happen. There’s some cool trees out there, some great fall colors.”      

Riphagen says the remaining ash trees have a yellow color leaf, while hickory trees are presenting a vibrant golden yellow color, and maples give off a red and yellow combination. Riphagen adds that even though there has not been a lot of moisture in the last couple of months, the one indicator for trees that start turning their leaves from green to their fall colors is the change in the amount of daylight hours.