Trees, like other living organisms, find ways to adapt to hostile environmental conditions. While below-ground parts of a tree stay insulated from the cold by soil, mulch, and a layer of snow, the above-ground parts remain exposed to the elements.
Have you ever wondered how trees survive during those frigid, sub-zero temperatures? Can a tree freeze to death? As a top-rated contractor for arborist services in Marietta, GA, SoutheastTree delves deeper into how trees survive the winter.
What Do Trees Do in the Winter?
Can a tree freeze to death? While possible, trees rarely freeze to death, even in the most brutal winters. A sudden drop in temperature levels or hard freeze can shred cell membranes, eventually killing the leaves, branches, and even entire trees.
However, most trees use special strategies to prevent the water in their cells from freezing.
How Do Trees Keep Their Cells Alive in Winter?
Even though trees go into dormancy during winter, they still do plenty to keep their cells alive. As you already know, deciduous trees lose their leaves during winter, so they no longer have to support the leaves through the harsh conditions.
Evergreens can survive on much less water than deciduous trees. Evergreens don’t need to shed their needles to conserve water because they can push water into their branches even during the coldest temperatures.
Trees typically begin their preparations for winter in the late summer as day length shortens. Adapting to the cold temperatures occurs gradually, often starting with a change in fall color. When winter arrives, research suggests that trees use several techniques to prevent freezing.
Cellular Dehydration
Can a tree freeze to death? Most trees survive winter temperatures by changing their membranes to become more pliable. The change in membrane allows water to migrate from the cells into the spaces between the cells. This helps prevent the inside of the cell from freezing, which would otherwise kill the cell.
The relocated water freezes first, giving off a tiny burst of heat that helps keep the cells from freezing. While this happens, some trees turn the starch inside their cells into sugar, which acts as a natural antifreeze and lowers the freezing point inside the cells.
A tree doesn’t necessarily have to keep all its cells from freezing, just the living ones, which primarily comprise the phloem cells. Dead cells, such as xylem cells, can and do freeze, but that has no adverse effect on the tree.
While most of a tree’s above-ground cells freeze when exposed to extreme cold, the living cells remain unfrozen and stay active, albeit on a reduced level.
Different tree species have varying levels of cold tolerance. Cellular dehydration helps determine a tree’s plant hardiness zone, an indication of where you can expect each tree to thrive.
When choosing tree species to plant in your yard, choose species genetically capable of surviving in local temperatures without frost damage.
Sometimes, however, trees may struggle to survive extreme conditions, especially if natural conditions change suddenly. While most trees have strategies for withstanding winter cold, sometimes extreme cold may cause trees to explode.
Trust Your Local Tree Experts
When you need specialized tree care from a fully licensed and insured tree company, look to SoutheastTree. As a comprehensive tree service and removal company, we proudly provide numerous tree care solutions, including:
- Tree trimming and pruning
- Tree removal
- Emergency tree services
- Land clearing
Call SoutheastTree at (770) 977-8733 (TREE) to schedule an appointment for tree service in Atlanta, Georgia. Reach out for answers to the questions “Do trees die of old age?” and “Can a tree freeze to death?”