At SoutheastTree, we are tree service professionals in Marietta, GA, you can rely on. Serving the community since 1997, we specialize in providing quality tree care services to residential and commercial clients.
During the colder months, you’ll probably see trees lose their leaves, become bare, and wonder: “How do trees survive winter?” We’re more familiar with how animals survive the winter season, such as eating more food or hibernating, but trees also undergo processes to stay alive during the cold winter months. Trees have developed various ways to survive in colder temperatures, including a process called dormancy.
Dormancy
To survive the winter season, trees undergo a process similar to hibernation called dormancy. Dormancy refers to when a tree’s metabolism, growth, and energy consumption slow down. At the beginning of this process, trees lose their leaves while their cell growth is suspended. During dormancy, trees will prioritize their essential systems to survive.
Bark
Trees also survive throughout the winter with the help of bark. Bark helps trees stay alive by providing insulation and protecting against freezing and cracking from the cold. While trees can have various kinds of bark, they all allow trees to tolerate the colder months by dispersing heat.
Needle Leaves
We’ve established that trees will lose their leaves during dormancy. This loss occurs in deciduous trees, but coniferous trees will retain needles throughout the year. In this type of tree, they end up losing their old and damaged needles. Fortunately, needles can limit their water loss better than deciduous trees, allowing coniferous trees to stay alive.
Tolerance to Cold
A common question is, ‘will trees die in cold temperature?’ Trees prepare for winter in the late summer when daylight begins to decline during the year. While starting their dormancy, trees adapt their tolerance to the coming cold months to prevent such outcomes. In this process, tree cells prevent freezing and damage with changes at the cellular level. These changes include the cells becoming glasslike through shrinkage and dehydration, enabling them to survive even in freezing temperatures.
Do Trees Ever Prevent Dormancy?
Trees undergoing winter dormancy is all part of nature, and forcing a tree to refuse dormancy by providing light and stable temperatures can drastically reduce their lifespan. Trees naturally go through dormancy, and it can have a negative impact on the trees if they don’t.
While trees have developed several ways to withstand the winter cold and survive until the spring season, they can sometimes explode as a result of the extreme cold. When sap inside a tree starts to freeze, it expands and puts pressure on the bark, leading to the possibility of it breaking and causing an explosion.
Top Rated Tree Service in Marietta, GA, and North Metro Atlanta
At SoutheastTree, we serve Marietta, GA, and the North Metro Atlanta area with quality tree care services, including tree removal, tree bracing, trimming, and pruning. As a business with over two decades in the industry, our team understands the importance of trees and the care they require. Our team takes the extra steps to provide the most comprehensive tree service, leaving your trees in the best possible condition.
One of our priorities is allowing our customers to have access to quality tree services at an affordable price. We think of tree removal as a necessity and keep our costs low as a convenience.
Every member of our team is trained to understand your needs, allowing our expert arborists to meet and exceed your expectations. We put your satisfaction first and provide 24/7 emergency services to ensure we meet your needs at all times. If you’ve ever wondered, “How do trees survive winter?” we can help.
Whether you’d like to learn when it is considered a tree emergency or schedule a free risk assessment, our team at SoutheastTree is standing by.
Call us at (770) 977-8733 to schedule an appointment for your tree needs today!