Many St. Louis-Area Trees Aren’t Changing Colors — Here’s Why

By Alex Heuer

Published October 23, 2019 at 3:30 PM CDT

Trees in the St. Louis area about one month behind schedule in changing colors this fall.

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Trees in the St. Louis area are about one month behind schedule in changing colors this fall.

Jason Rosenbaum | St. Louis Public Radio

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Some trees such as this one in St. Louis' Lindenwood Park neighborhood remain green.

Brent Jones | St. Louis Public Radio

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At this point in the fall season, most St. Louis-area trees should have changed colors.

Cindy Collins | St. Louis Public Radio

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Many trees in Rolla are also holding onto their green color.

Jonathan Ahl | St. Louis Public Radio

Drives around the St. Louis area have so far been a little less colorful this fall. That’s mainly due to unusual daytime and nighttime temperatures that are preventing chlorophyll from breaking down. The breakdown in chlorophyll causes leaves to lose their green color.

On Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air, host Sarah Fenske talked with Tom Beshoar, the St. Louis district manager for Davey Tree, a tree and lawn care company. In addition to the color trends, they discussed the unusual amount of stress that trees are experiencing due to a wet spring and dry fall.

“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Tonina Saputo. The engineer is Aaron Doerr, and production assistance is provided by Charlie McDonald.

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