Fall colors are in full display in the collections and grounds of The Morton Arboretum. The woodlands are especially colorful with sugar maples, elms, and hickories in full yellow color this year!

Despite some gray skies, this week is a wonderful time to visit and experience many different types of plants in a vivid display of autumn leaf color. The predominant colors this week are yellow and yellow-gold. These colors may be found on elms, bitternut hickories, ironwoods, sugar maples, coffeetrees, hackberries, tree lilacs, basswoods, pawpaws, magnolias, witch-hazels, ginkgoes, and bur oaks. Reds and purple can be seen on sumacs, oak-leaved hydrangeas, dogwoods, viburnums, and some oaks.

Seasonal displays of colorful mums, pumpkins, and gourds can be seen around The Gerard T. Donnelly Grand Garden, the Visitor Center, and Arbor Court (Parking Lot 1) and the Thornhill Education Center (Parking Lot 22).

Good places to stop along the East Side Main Route to start a walk amid the autumn colors include parking lots 2 and 5 (the Midwest Collection); Parking Lot 4 (where there are crabapple and pear trees in fruit and in fall color); Parking Lot 5 (the Magnolia Collection); Parking Lot 6 (the Buckeye Collection); parking lots 7 and 8 (the Maple Collection and the Oak Collection); parking lots 9 through 15 (the East Woods); Parking Lot 16 (plants of Appalachia); Parking Lot 17 (plants of China); and Parking Lot 18 (sumac shrubs and ginkgo trees).

On the Arboretum’s West Side, stop at Parking Lot 19 to enjoy crabapple fruits and Lake Jopamaca; Parking Lot 21, for gardens around Thornhill; the West Side Alternate Route, for oaks in Sargent’s Glade and sugar maples around Lake Marmo and Sterling Pond; or the West Side Main Route for oaks in Daffodil Glade (Parking Lot 23) and the golden Schulenberg Prairie (Parking Lot 25).

The fall color season is splendid here at The Morton Arboretum. Don’t let gray weather keep you inside. Come out and enjoy nature’s fall color display!

The Fall Color Report is written by the Arboretum’s manager of plant records, Ed Hedborn. It is typically published on Fridays throughout the fall to give members and guests a chance to plan their weekend visits. The Arboretum also publishes a weekly Bloom Report in springtime.

The Morton Arboretum is more than a walk in the woods. Explore upcoming learning opportunities and events to learn more about trees and plants and to celebrate your love of nature.

Experience the Arboretum’s Fall Color Festival, happening throughout the season. Visitors can enjoy daily events, the annual Scarecrow Trail, the award-winning Children’s Garden, and special seasonal concessions in Arbor Court. Plan your visit today!