Des Moines — It’s been a rough spring for certain flowering trees & shrubs, including magnolia, forsythia, and lilacs. Tivon Feeley is with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
“We’re seeing some of those leaves come out kind of pale green and limp as they’re coming out of the bud, and then if you look at them closely you can see that there is dark brown to black lesions on those leaves.”
He says some maple trees were also affected.
“Another one I’m seeing quite commonly with the maples, those leaves there, they’re impacted pretty heavily right now, especially the red maples.”
Feeley says conifers also sustained some damage.
Feeley says it’s a result of the much above-normal temperatures we experienced in late winter. He says that caused trees to bud much earlier than usual. The very cold weather that followed then damaged those buds.
(Courtesy fellow Community First Broadcasting station KUOO in Spirit Lake)
