PEIYou may have noticed that some trees on P.E.I. are already starting to show off their colours. That’s because this summer’s hot, dry conditions have been stressing trees and pushing fall foliage into fast-forward.Many deciduous trees have spent weeks under stress, expert saysMarilee Devries · CBC News · Posted: Aug 28, 2025 12:24 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoIslanders will likely see fall colours early across the province this year, following the dry, hot summer. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)You may have noticed some trees on P.E.I. are already starting to show off their colours. That’s because this summer’s hot, dry conditions are pushing fall foliage into fast-forward.”The trees are under some stress,” said Jennifer Kershaw, an instructor with the Department of Biology at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S.”They’re not getting enough water, and the hot weather makes it so that they need to lose water off the surface of their leaves, just like we do to sweat.”And just like humans, Kershaw said, trees have a stress response. Jennifer Kershaw, an instructor with the Department of Biology at Acadia University, said research shows climate change is leading to a whole series of ‘complicated changes’ in tree development. (Acadia University)”Once it gets that signal that there’s stress, [a tree] will start to move all of the nutrients that are in that leaf,” she said. “They can recover a really large portion of the nitrogen and the phosphorus and all those other things that we would usually put as fertilizers. They can draw them back into the rest of the plant before, at the last minute, they let that leaf drop off.”What it means for next yearKershaw says there is no indication that this early colour change will have any impact on the trees’ growth next year.”If you have a number of stressful years or a very stressful summer, it can make the plant a little bit more susceptible to other types of damage, like insect damage,” she said. “But we’re not necessarily seeing any sign of that this year.”She also said the trees won’t overwinter any differently.”The tree is sort of trying to maximize its growth over its whole lifetime. So, you know, for them, one bad year is no big deal.”Climate change connection Kershaw said research shows climate change is leading to a whole series of “complicated changes” in tree development.Trees can draw a large portion of nutrients from leaves back into the rest of the plant before the leaves drop. (Jane Robertson/CBC)”When you look at even a given species over the last many thousand years, their responses to changing climate have allowed them to be more successful in different areas.”Kershaw said it depends on the tree species and also the specifics of a region, but Islanders may find in the years to come that they can grow plants from different plant hardiness zones.Don’t expect anything too exotic, she added. “I don’t think you can count on palm trees just yet.”ABOUT THE AUTHORMarilee Devries is a journalist with CBC P.E.I. She has a journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. She can be reached at marilee.devries@cbc.caWith files from Island Morning
Fast-tracked fall: P.E.I.’s hot, dry summer is leading to an early burst of autumn colours
