Plant Hardiness Zones. Plant hardiness zones help gardeners understand which plants will most likely survive at a location. It is important that your plants can thrive year-round, surviving extreme temperatures. Note: Zone maps do have shortfalls; if the information is inaccurate, you may live in a microclimate.
In normal years, colors peak in the first week of October on the U.P., the second week of October in northern Lower Michigan and the last two weeks of October in southern Lower Michigan. When the colors do peak, here are some of the best bets for fall foliage viewing from Pure Michigan:
Fall colors occur from early September through about the third week of October with maple colors peaking the last week of September into the first week of October. The next week the golden peak season occurs. Rainfall and temps affect both when the colors occur and how long they last, so it is variable each year. Starting Labor Day, I will provide weekly fall color reports with suggested tours each Thursday.