Leaves turning yellow early as drought stresses Halifax trees

The dry conditions are making leaves change their colours across the Maritimes.

It may be the middle of August, but in Halifax signs of autumn are appearing weeks ahead of schedule.

Across the city, patches of yellow and brown are visible in the neighbourhood trees, while lawns crunch underfoot. Experts say the prolonged dry conditions are putting significant stress on vegetation.

“What’s happening with some trees – not all trees – is that they are under stress, just as lawns and gardens are with this drought,” said Emily Tregunno, with Halifax Seed Company.

While some of the damage is caused by Japanese beetles, officials say the majority of early colour change is a survival response.

“In an effort to conserve water, they’re going into an early dormant season, following a process similar to what you’d see in the fall,” said Crispin Wood, Halifax Regional Municipality’s urban forestry manager. “Typically, it will be just a portion of the leaves, the tree will retain some ability to photosynthesize.”

Municipalities have been asking residents to conserve water, which makes it more challenging to provide supplemental watering to lawns, gardens and young trees.

According to Tregunno, once a tree’s entire canopy has changed colour, it is unlikely to recover until next season.

While rainfall could help, city crews are holding off on new plantings until the fall, when conditions are expected to be more favourable.

“We’re waiting until the fall to start ramping planting back up because we know planning in these hot, dry conditions is not ideal,” Wood said. “We’re also adapting our tree planting, the species we choose, because we know with climate change this will become more common.”

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