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I go through Duke Gardens pretty frequently, and I haven't observed any appreciable "fall color" on the Japanese maples there (or anywhere else in the Triangle) quite yet. When the best time to see them is can vary enormously, depending on the weather, on the microclimate site conditions in any given location, and also on the particular variety or cultivar of any one Japanese maple, but it seems to me like peak color on them in central North Carolina can be anywhere from about the middle of October to the middle of November. Average in recent years has been about the first week of November, in my experience, but that's by no means set in stone and can be significantly earlier or later depending on the factors mentioned above.
Let's all keep an eye out for leaf color developments over the next few weeks, and let each other know when the best viewing may occur.
FWIW, on the autumn leaves front, I noticed today that the zelkovas in the parking lot islands at Cary Towne Center Mall were beginning to turn on their outer branches, especially the ones on the south side of the mall (the side with Dillard's, Macy's, and Sears). I always think that zelkovas are one of the most underrated and unheralded trees for fall color in this part of the country, turning a consistent deep, radiant orange for a solid couple of weeks every October and/or November. The recent spate of cool nighttime temps in the 40's I'm sure is promoting relatively early coloring on a lot of plants. I've noticed some red maples, sugar maples, dogwoods, and a few others beginning to turn, which is a couple of weeks earlier than they have in most years lately. I still haven't seen any Japanese maples showing any noticeable fall color yet, though; the green-leaved varieties in my neighborhood are still green, while the red-leaved varieties are still that muddy purple-bronze-green color that they age to after mid-summer. No sign of that incredible electric scarlet yet, but I'm still lookin'.
Also, not to be too Cary-focused (I don't even live there), but I did notice this morning that the red maples along Caitboo drive in the Crossroads development there were starting to color-up and look really good. I always think their fall foliage looks like the color of a really, really, really bad sunburn. But it's a lot more charming than that.
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