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:
By this time last year, fall colors were showing on the Upper Peninsula, but this year, there is almost no color showing there, according to MLive.com meteorologist Mark Torregrossa. Some stressed trees in northern Lower Michigan may be showing some color, but for the most part, the trees still look like summer.