Autumn Interrupted by Nature's Challenges in Boston

The vibrant transformation of leaves into shades of red, orange and yellow marks the transition from summer into the cooler months. With Boston ranked among the most beautiful autumn cities, its fall foliage is a popular attraction for both locals and tourists. This season, however, the picturesque scenery is threatened by increasing environmental stressors on the region’s trees.

In an interview with Steve Kendall, an International Society of Arboriculture-certified arborist and district manager at Hartney Greymont, a Massachusetts tree and landscaping company, we discussed local tree health and its effects on the vibrancy of fall foliage. 

Boston’s most common fall foliage species include maples, oaks, ashes and beeches. The sugar maple — “a classic New England foliage tree,” according to Kendall — has been plagued by anthracnose, an early-season leaf disease. “When we have the right sort of confluence of circumstances early in the spring, with a temperature and moisture content that lines up with the development of anthracnose, that gets onto the leaves and makes the trees photosynthesize less efficiently,” Kendall said. This disease has lasting effects on local trees because it can persist between growing seasons. Severe infections may lead to premature defoliation, meaning the trees shed their leaves earlier than normal.

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