Encyclopedia of fire safety

What happens to trees and shrubs in late autumn and winter. Does a tree grow in winter: features of plant development Do coniferous trees grow in winter

How trees and other plants winter: informative stories and fairy tales about trees in winter for children, observations of trees in nature, videos for children.

How do trees winter?

The last month of winter is coming. Outside, frost. People changed into warm clothes. winter jackets, fur coats, sheepskin coats. Animals also walk in a fierce cold in warm winter coats. But what about the trees? Do they have coats? It turns out there is! Walking with your child on the street, go up to the trees, stroke their bark and tell us about the unusual fur coats invisible to us that trees wear in winter! 🙂

How trees hibernate: Do trees have winter coats?

In winter, all trees sleep. They stop eating and growing. Sleeping consumes less nutrients and heat, which helps trees survive cold, harsh winters.

Are trees ready for winter? Of course!

Firstly, in the summer all the trees prepared warm "fur coats" for themselves. What are these coats? A “fur coat” for a tree is a cork fabric under the bark that does not release heat from the tree and does not allow water and air to pass through. It is this "fur coat" that does not allow the tree to freeze even in the most severe frosts.

Secondly, in autumn the trees shed their leaves. Fallen leaves on the ground lay like a warm blanket and protected the roots of trees from freezing - they warmed them.

Where do cracks in tree bark come from?

Probably all of you have seen the cracks in the trees. Review them with your child. I wonder where they come from?

The reason is simple. An unexpected thaw will come in winter, and at night a severe frost will suddenly break out. And the "fur coats" of trees cool and shrink - "shrink" and ... tear. These cracks remain in the tree for its entire life.

Can frost kill a tree?

Discuss with the child on this topic, listen to his suggestions. And then read the answer to this question, which you will find in the story of V. Bianchi

W. Bianchi. Forest in winter

Can frost kill a tree?

Of course it can.

If the tree freezes through and through, to the very core, it will die. In especially severe winters with little snow, many trees perish in our country, mostly young ones. All the trees would have perished if each tree hadn’t cunningly to keep warm in itself, not to allow frost deep inside itself.

Feeding, growing, producing offspring - all this requires a large expenditure of strength, energy, a large expenditure of one's heat. And now the trees, having gathered strength over the summer, refuse to eat by winter, stop eating, stop growing, do not spend energy on reproduction. They become inactive, fall into a deep sleep.

The leaves exhale a lot of heat, down with the leaves for the winter! Trees throw them off themselves, refuse them in order to keep the warmth necessary for life. And by the way, the leaves thrown from the branches, rotting on the ground, themselves give warmth and protect the delicate roots of trees from freezing.

Little of! Each tree has a shell that protects the living flesh of the plant from frost. All summer, every year, trees lay porous cork tissue under the skin of their trunk and branches - a dead layer. The cork does not let water or air through. The air stagnates in its pores and does not allow heat to radiate from the living body of the tree. The older the tree, the thicker the cork layer in it, which is why old, thick trees tolerate cold better than young trees with thin stems and branches.

Little and cork shell. If the severe frost manages to break through under it, it will meet reliable chemical defenses in the living body of the plant. By winter, in the juices of trees are deposited various salts and starch converted to sugar. A solution of salts and sugar is very cold-resistant.

But the most best defense from frost - a fluffy snow cover. It is known that caring gardeners deliberately bend chilly young fruit trees to the ground and throw snow at them: it is warmer for them. In snowy winters, snow, like a duvet, covers the forest, and even then the forest is not afraid of any cold.

No, no matter how severe the frost - it will not kill our northern forest!

Our Prince Bova will stand against all storms and snowstorms.

Ask the children after reading the story:

  • How do trees "cheat" frosts? How do they prepare for them?
  • Which trees are more afraid of frost - young thin or old and thick? Why? It is very important that the child understands the logical cause-and-effect relationships, and can explain the reason. And not just memorized the “correct answer”.
  • What is the best frost protection? How do people help bushes and trees survive the fierce winter? Do your grandparents help plants in the country before winter - prepare them for wintering? How?

Video for children about the life of trees in winter

There is a video based on my article. Quite by accident, I found it on the Internet. They didn’t take my consent to create this video, they didn’t indicate the authorship either, but the video turned out to be interesting for children, so I decided to post it in the article. In the video - reading my story about trees (which you read above) is given, accompanied by pictures.

Who hibernates how: how do grasses hibernate?

Herbs are annual and perennial. annual plants in autumn they produce seeds and die. And perennials are preparing for winter. They accumulate "food" in the rhizomes for the winter. And they hide under a thick layer of fluffy white snow - they spend the winter there. Snow for them is like a fluffy warm carpet that warms the grasses and prevents them from freezing. When the snow melts in spring, it will water the earth, and the grasses will grow well again.

Some plants keep their leaves for the winter. For example, lingonberries hibernate under the snow with green leaves. Cranberries also hibernate even with berries. And in the spring you can collect overwintered cranberries. They are said to be very sweet.

Listen to how Cowberry and Cranberry talked to each other in winter under the snow.

E. Shim "Cowberry and Cranberry"

And I, lingonberry, have something to eat! Under the snow, I saved the green leaves until spring, and even - hee-hee! - berries...

Think berries! Wrinkled, sour.

Why, spring is such a rarity!

Nothing is rare. Here, at Cranberry, I have a lot of berries under the snow. And not your couple: large, sweet, tender ... Even better than in autumn!

It is difficult for forest dwellers in winter. So the bunny dreams of green grass and juicy leaves. Where can you find them in winter? Guessed? You want to know? The mouse will tell us the secret - vole. Listen to how she talked to the bunny in the winter forest.

N. Sladkov. Hare and vole

Bunny - Frost and blizzard, snow and cold. If you want to smell green grass, gnaw on juicy leaves - endure until spring. And where else is that spring - beyond the mountains and beyond the seas ...

Mouse - Not beyond the seas, Hare, spring is not far off, but under your feet! Dig the snow to the ground - there are green lingonberries, and strawberries, and dandelions. And sniff and eat.

Grasses are the youngest and youngest winterers! Read to the children a story about how young winterers live in winter

V. Bianchi "Young winterers"

Trees and perennial grasses are ready for wintering. And annual grasses have already scattered their seeds.

But not all annuals will overwinter as seeds. Some of them have already sprouted. A lot of annual weeds sprouted in the dug-up vegetable gardens. On the bare dark earth, rosettes of notched leaves of shepherd's purse, and nettle-like fluffy leaves of purple lamb, and a tiny fragrant chamomile, and pansies, and yarutka, and, of course, the annoying wood lice. All these plants are going to winter, live under the snow until next autumn.

Tales and stories about trees in winter

Why do trees lose leaves in winter?

You will find a very unusual and very poetic answer to this question in a wonderful cartoon made by children based on a Danish legend.

Pavlova N. Trees in winter. Story

Everything green that was so pleasing to the eye in spring and summer has disappeared or is hidden deep under the snow.

Pines, spruces, and bare crowns of sleeping deciduous trees - that's all that can now be observed from flora. Well, what! And it's better than nothing.

If it is pleasant to see a linden, maple or oak in summer, it is twice as pleasant to recognize them when meeting in winter. To learn from afar, as you recognize an old acquaintance by his gait, by some gesture peculiar to him alone.

Here is a tree in the distance, in which all the branches are curved, smoothly roundly curved - in the middle they bend down, at the top they rise again. This is a linden. You can check whether winged linden nuts are probably still preserved on it or under it in the snow.

And here is a powerful tree with dried leaves on the tops of the branches. This is oak. He never has time to drop all the foliage before frost, and the dead leaves remain on the branches.

And it may not be so easy to recognize this small tree from a distance, but you won’t be mistaken from a distance: no other tree has such small black cones as an alder.

And at the ash tree, whole bunches of long narrow fruit-lionfish hang on the branches. Thanks to these long lionfish, you cannot confuse ash with maple. And so they have a common feature that is not found in our other trees: all their branches are arranged in pairs.

This is the best sign to distinguish maple. After all, there are a lot of different maples in gardens and parks, and their leaves are so diverse that sometimes you don’t want to believe that they are all maples.

But one has only to look at how these leaves sit, how the branches are arranged, to make sure.

Here are a couple of young shoots, a second one crossed over it, higher, crossed again ...

Yes, it's maple for sure!

And here's the tree...

However, everyone in his own way can learn to recognize trees and shrubs in winter. It is not difficult, because they have preserved so many signs!

And now I would like to give more advice to those who miss the beauty of nature, who yearn to relive joy, delight and amazement.

I warmly advise you to get on skis and go to a young spruce forest.

No words can convey the charm of a fabulously magnificent magical forest completely transformed by a snow sculpture.

It cannot be conveyed. This must be seen for yourself.

Fairy tale tree. G. Tsyferov

» The Little Bear was friends with a tree. One day the Tree said to him:

- Autumn soon.

- And how did you guess, - Bear cub was surprised, - after all, you don’t even have eyes?

Stop reading the story and ask the kid how the tree knew that autumn had come and winter would be coming soon? How could it feel it if it has no eyes?

And then read Tree's answer:

“But I feel everything,” answered the Tree. - I used to hold hot hands in green palms. Sun rays, now I feel: they have become cold.

Ask the kid what kind of green palms do trees have? How do they feel that winter is coming soon and it's time to prepare for it? (the day is getting shorter, the air is getting colder)

How trees hibernate: we observe trees on a walk with children

In winter, it is very convenient to view the trees. Here are some ideas for observing with children:

Observation 1. Trees and bushes. Trees have one trunk - large, powerful, it starts from the roots near the ground and goes up to the branches. What is the difference between a bush and a tree? The bush has several trunks, as if thick branches stick out of the ground. Find with your child some trees and some shrubs in the yard and in the park. Name them to your child.

Observation 2. Crown of trees and their bark. How to distinguish trees in winter from each other when there are no leaves on them? By crown or bark. For example, the crown of a birch is different in that its branches hang down - “drooping crown”. And the oak has a sprawling crown, of a different shape - like a tent, a dome, the branches are thick, winding. The bark of trees is also different - stroke it, take a closer look, tell us how you can tell from the bark what kind of tree it is (oak, birch, mountain ash, linden, poplar). In birch and aspen, the bark is smooth, but different in color. Spruce is rough. Ash has cracks. In oak - thick, with deep cracks. In pine - lamellar, with, as it were, lagging plates.

Teach your child to distinguish trees from each other in winter. A fascinating educational fairy tale for kids by N. Pavlova "Winter Feast" will help you with this. And when the children learn to distinguish trees, play a speech game - a riddle. You describe the tree (trunk, bark, branches), and the children guess. Then the children ask you their riddles, and you guess.

N. Pavlova. winter revelry

The hare fed the lame squirrel all summer: the mischievous boy broke her paw. And when the squirrel recovered, she said goodbye to the hare and said:

Thank you, bunny, thank you! Look, don't make any stocks for the winter. In the summer you fed me, in the winter I will feed you.

But since that day the hare has not seen the squirrel. The last grass disappeared under the snow. And the hare was left to devour, only bare twigs and bark. In bad weather, he often went hungry. Then he remembered the squirrel, and he became more cheerful: “I only have to find it, then we will live!” And finally the hare stumbled upon the squirrel. She was sitting on a branch near her hollow.

Hello, - shouted the hare, - what a blessing that I found you! After all, I haven't eaten anything since this morning.

Okay, okay, I'll put a samovar for a friend, - said the squirrel. - If only you would bring me birch branches, I would burn coals from them.

And the squirrel was cunning. She felt sorry for her reserves. And she deliberately sent the hare away. "Someday he will find birch thought the squirrel. “In the meantime, I will slowly drag all my supplies into another hollow and pretend that the marten has eaten me.”

But before the squirrel had time to thread the needle to mend the bag, the hare was right there.

Here, get the birch branches, busybodies!

Why birch is easy to find, - said the hare, - from the edge you can see how the birch tree is turning white.

I will have coals, but I have nothing to kindle them with. If you would bring me aspen branches, I would make matches out of them.

I’ll bring it, I’ll bring it, troublesome, ”said the hare and rushed off.

And the squirrel thinks: “Well, aspen you won’t find it soon in winter: after all, without leaves, all trees are similar to each other, one white birch is different from all.

But before the squirrel had time to put the first patch on the bag, the hare was already right there.

Here, get aspen branches, troublemaker.

You turned around quickly, said the squirrel.

Why aspen is easy to find- said the hare, - the little aspen stands like a palisade. Aspens are thin, straight, gray-green, and their bark is bitter.

"That's right," thought the squirrel. And let's get smarter:

I'll put the samovar, but how will I set the table? Because I don't have a table. You would bring me oak logs, I would saw wood, I would make an oak table.

I’ll bring it, I’ll bring it, troublesome, ”said the hare and rushed off.

And the squirrel thinks: “Well, oak You won’t find it soon in winter.”

But before the squirrel had time to put ten nuts into a bag, the hare was already right there.

Come on, get your oak logs, troublemaker.

You turned around quickly, said the squirrel.

Why oak is easy to find- said the hare, - big, fat and clumsy, and dried leaves hang on the branches in winter, like flags.

"That's right," thought the squirrel. And let's get smarter:

I’ll make a table, but there’s nothing to shuffle around it with. Would you bring me a lime washcloth.

I’ll bring it, I’ll bring it, troublesome, ”said the hare and rushed off.

And the squirrel thinks: “Well, linden You won’t find it soon in winter!”

But before the squirrel had time to tie up a bag of nuts, the hare was right there.

Here, get a fake washcloth, troublemaker.

You quickly turned around.

Why lime is easy to find- said the hare, - each branch in the middle of it bent, as if a bear cub was sitting on it in this place.

"That's right," thought the squirrel. And let's get smarter:

We will feast with you, but what is a feast without music? Would you bring me maple logs. I would make a balalaika out of them.

I’ll bring it, I’ll bring it, troublesome, ”said the hare and rushed off.

And the squirrel thinks: “Well, maple“You won’t find it soon in the winter!”

But before she had time to put the first bag of nuts on her shoulders, the hare was right there.

Come on, get your maple logs, you buster.

You turned around quickly, said the squirrel.

Why maple is easy to find, - said the hare, - all his twigs sit in pairs, that's how a person stands, he raised his hands up: the body is a branch, his hands are twigs. You were the only one who drove me, you troublemaker! Well, nothing, it’s a shame not to try for such a holiday. And my paws are big, strong, not like yours. When I bandaged your paw in the summer, I kept wondering how such paws can withstand your jumps?

Then the squirrel remembered how the hare looked after her, how he fed her all summer, and the squirrel felt ashamed. She felt so ashamed that she blushed all over and went from gray to red again.

Sit a little bit, bunny, - said the squirrel softly and kindly. - I'll cook everything now.

And she quickly made matches out of aspen, lit birch coals, melted the samovar, made an oak table, scoured it with a lime washcloth and pointed all sorts of things at it. Instructed everything, as for a big feast. And when he and the hare had a little refreshment, the squirrel adjusted the maple balalaika and began to play. And then they had such fun with the hare that even all the nearby trees regretted that they had no legs to dance that evening.

Read this fairy tale at home with your child, and then on a walk, find those trees that are mentioned in the fairy tale. Will the kid be able to complete the tasks of the squirrel - will he find the trees named by her? You can print out the text of the fairy tale and take it with you for a walk to read fragments - how did the bunny find different trees in the forest.

Observation 3. Show your child frozen branches of trees or bushes (they look glassy on some winter days). Handsomely? For us, yes! But the trees are not happy in such ice! Explain that branches are especially fragile at this time. And so they break easily. Therefore, on frosty days, you need to be especially careful about trees and shrubs - they are easy to break.

Observation 4 Consider the fluffy snow blanket that covers the tree and the snow caps on its branches. Admire the snow caps on the trees during a snowfall. Play a game to develop the imagination “What does the resulting figure look like? "

You will find games about nature in winter, developing tasks, informative stories and fairy tales in pictures in the articles: or on the cover of the course below for free subscription


Such a statement to an amateur gardener may seem strange. Indeed, in the literature we read the following: "The roots continue their vital activity if the temperature in the surface root layer of the soil is positive." Everything is correct, and gardeners of small-sized garden plots, and these are inquisitive, persistent people, often empirically confirm the above conclusion. So, in our horticulture, during autumn tillage, we, in addition to organic and mineral fertilizers (potassium, phosphorus), also introduce nitrogen. Horrible! - the “erudite” reader will exclaim, - how is this possible? After all, nitrogen fertilizers are applied to the soil only in spring. Moreover, in autumn we also scatter wood ash under the trees. It would seem that this makes no sense, because in winter the roots "sleep" and the tree is in biological rest.
However, its roots continue to live in winter months. Even in the last century, it was noticed that the roots and shoots of trees have two phases of intensive growth. The aerial part grows and develops in the warm season, but the roots behave differently, such is their nature - they continue to grow in winter. In an apple tree, for example, they can grow even in January, if the temperature around them does not fall below -1 ... -2 ° C.
Much depends on the reserves of moisture and nutrients in the soil, the soil solution and the water that the roots absorb. With the help of competent agricultural technology, the gardener can purposefully and timely form the necessary, large mass of tree roots and lengthen the period of their growth. It has been experimentally established that the roots that appear in autumn and winter are more stable and durable than spring ones. Few amateur gardeners know about this, but it is true. Research scientists have shown that the root system of plants absorbs from the ground nutrients not only in autumn, but also in winter, if the soil is not too frozen from above. Yes, it cannot freeze much if it is covered with a thick layer of snow (this the best cover above-ground parts of plants from frost). 20-30 cm of snow cover is enough to protect the roots from freezing, and if we bring this snowy mound to a height of 120-150 cm, then even in the most severe frost the temperature under it will not fall below -6 ... -10 ° C , In the soil itself, it retains positive indicators for a long time. This allows the roots to continue to accumulate nutrients in preparation for spring growth.
Thus, plants convert mineral nitrogen into organic nitrogen, accumulating it in the root system. At good care Behind a tree, the nitrogen content can double from early October to January! Whereas in poorly fertilized areas it can grow only by 10%. In this regard, it is very useful to add saltpeter or ammonium sulfate to the soil in autumn and winter. From all that has been said, we draw an important practical conclusion: do not be afraid to feed trees and shrubs with nitrogen fertilizers in the fall. These fertilizers will not harm the soils of the Non-Black Earth Region, which are not distinguished by high fertility. However, such top dressing is useful only for those plants that bear fruit well this season.
important in the protection of plants from low temperatures have their adaptability. Yes, in winter period the reserves of substances that protect the plant organism from the cold increase: sugars, proteins and lipids, which are essentially cryoprotectants or antifreezes. They allow the plant to avoid or reduce the consequences of stressful situations.
However, under conditions of extremely low temperatures, many plants die due to the fact that their intracellular fluid freezes, and the cells are destroyed. At frost-resistant species In plants, this usually does not happen, because they are protected from the inside by intracellular substances of antifreeze or cryoprotective action.
I. Krivega
Newspaper "GARDENER" â„–6, 2010

Does the tree grow in winter?

    An example from life when trees are cut down or branches are cut? When the process of sap flow in a tree is slowed down or reduced to a minimum, then such preventive, sanitary pruning does not threaten the tree. And this comes in late autumn and lasts until early spring. What does this mean? It means that the trees fall asleepquot ;, therefore, there is no visible growth in them. Answer yes, we can say that they are growing, albeit imperceptibly. But there is a root system that is active during this period, it is a pity that we do not see this.

    You can make such an observation of a tree with a child. Choose in November at the cottage or country house a small tree, maybe a young seedling. Measure its height with a tape measure, write the result in a notebook. Measure it again in the spring before buds appear. Again, write down the result in a notebook. In the autumn that came a year later, we write down one more result and compare it. You will see that the tree (crown) actively grew (a) in the spring and summer. Yes, this will be visually well seen from the young, tender shoots, which even differ in color from the old branches, how your tree grew. Perhaps you will be able to fix the winter growth, albeit minimal, but it will be a real experiment (experience) of a young naturalist. It turns out that even asleep the tree is alive, we do not take into account dried trees that are cut down ...

    I don’t know if there is something similar in the outside world, but if not, then we need to make a proposal to improve the textbook, in terms of the workshop-)

    The tree continues to live in winter, breathe, but its roots are in the frozen ground, and the leaves fall in the fall. Of course, under such conditions, the tree cannot actively grow, but until the ground is frozen to minus 2 degrees, the roots of the tree can grow. During this period, the formation of new roots is even more active than in the summer and spring.

    Interestingly, we do not think about what tree root system even more developed than the crown. If the crown of a tree is 2.5 m high, then the roots will go 3-4 meters from the trunk. It is in winter that the tree is actively looking for nutrients in the soil that has not yet been affected by frost, and from that it roots grow.

    There is a version that trees do not grow in winter. They freeze and go into a state of rest. Their growth and metabolism is suspended. But it doesn’t stop completely, it’s just that all processes are made much slower. At this time, cobs of leaves, elements of flowers are laid.

    What Trees sleep in winter is just a figurative expression. It is proved that trees grow constantly, as long as they live - they grow. Even during winter, when the tree seems to be sleeping the roots of the plant continue to function;, there is an active development and growth of the root system. Moreover, the rhizome that grew in the winter is much stronger, more viable than spring or summer growth. The more root tentacles quot ; appear in winter, the more magnificent the crown of the tree will be. Yes, and in the body of the whole tree, biological processes occur, although the metabolism is inhibited and terminated visible growth. but some vital processes of the plant also go on during winter sleep: starch turns into sugars and fats, sugars are consumed during respiration (although the intensity of breathing of a sleeping tree is 200-400 times slower than summer). Growth processes are also underway, although they are not at all noticeable externally - in winter, a period of intense activity educational fabric- meristems, the rudiments of leaves are also laid in vegetative buds and elements of flowers in flower buds.

    In winter, trees continue to grow, but not as intensively as in summer. In trees, it is during the winter period that the rudiments of future leaves are laid. Therefore, we can confidently say that trees grow in winter, but very slowly and imperceptibly.

    Found a magazine article on this topic.

    What is near the tree above the ground, in the cold winter time not growing - all the juices and resins in the trunk and in the branches froze and the tree can be said to be asleep.

    But deep underground, where winter frosts do not reach, the life process of the tree continues and the roots grow, gain strength by spring.

    I think that all the same, no, trees, grass, etc., do not grow in the winter season because they are in the dormant stage, otherwise we would see green sprouts and leaves, branches and trunks are filled with juice only at the beginning of spring, it is believed that - at this time they only wake up, and in the summer they grow.

    No, unfortunately trees do not grow in winter. In winter, the trees can be said to fall asleep, only in spring their growth begins. This can be understood by observing the birch. As soon as the sap flow begins, the tree comes to life. People collect birch sap, and then the leaves on the tree bloom. If trees grew in winter, it would be quite nice. Then there would be more trees, in general, it would be more profitable for the economy.

    Trees rest in winter and gain strength for spring flowering. This state of the tree is called dormancy, and at this time the growth of branches or trunk stops. That is, the tree does not grow, but functions. Metabolism does not stop with the onset of cold weather, but it slows down greatly. The same cold helps the tree to accumulate sugars and fats necessary for future growth, because starch is more easily broken down into sugar when it gets cold. The processes of photosynthesis stop, but the tree breathes quietly and gets rid of excess moisture. At the same time, in winter, the trees have an acceleration of the process of tissue formation - this is how the tree prepares the buds for blooming.

Winter activity of birches, poplars, maples, ash trees...

Interesting and entertaining questions about nature continue on the much-loved site mnogo.ru, however, the interpretation of tutanetam is the same. Appears Let's talk about trees which cause a lot of controversy on the subject of: whether they grow or not grow in the winter.

The wording itself is not entirely correct for defining the life of these perennials. Because as long as the tree has not dried up, it lives, regardless of whether it is summer or winter on the street, in the yard, in the city or in the village. Those. if it lives, then it grows even in winter, although we do not observe this. Well, where can you find millimeters of crown growth on a 30-meter handsome poplar, for example.

But, there are still rhizomes that lead an active life in winter, maybe no less than in spring, because it is always necessary to extract strength for the trunk and branches, regardless of the weather. Therefore, this is another argument that they are growing.

How to answer the question about the winter growth of trees in order to pick up 5 bonuses?

  • The answer from the quiz of the day on January 31 is no, because tree growth is halted in winter!
  • Therefore, without further ado, choose this answer, although it is slightly not entirely correct ...

Let's read a little about trees.

Some people are interested in the question of whether trees grow in winter? The answer is simple and difficult. From school curriculum it is well known that trees are dormant in winter, but this does not mean that it lasts the entire winter period. All living organisms, including plants, experience periodicity in development. Trees are no exception, they also have certain periods: two main ones (vegetation, dormancy) and two transitional ones.

Vegetation and dormancy

The state of vegetation does not need to be explained. It is during this period, which is the longest, that the laying and development of flower and leaf buds takes place, from which leaves, ovary, flowers appear, fruits grow and ripen. There is a significant increase in the root system. By the time the leaves are formed, it is very important that many small suction roots appear.

In the period of winter dormancy, the trees seem lifeless, but it is worth noting that this is an external manifestation. Their active functioning continues, however, it is not as intense as in summer, there is an entry into the plant a certain amount useful substances and water. So is it true that they also grow?

When there is a state of rest

It is generally accepted that the state of dormancy occurs in winter. This is not true. It starts very early. For this, there is a certain signal that nature gives to trees - a decrease in the length of daylight hours. At this time, the weather is warm, sunny days, but the trees begin to fall into a state of rest. It is at this time that the preparatory period begins, preceding the state of rest. It is characterized by the beginning of a slowdown in metabolism, yellowing and subsequent shedding of foliage.

Since December, an increase in daylight hours begins, and the vital activity of trees is activated. The preparatory period preceding the growing season begins. That is, the processes of formation begin. All this gives the full right to give an affirmative answer to the question of whether trees grow in winter.

It has been noticed that a tree growing near a lamppost or near a house where the light is on in the evenings does not shed its foliage for a long time. This is a direct confirmation of the dependence of the state of rest on the length of daylight hours.

What happens at rest

Do trees grow in winter? We can definitely say that in the initial period of dormancy, the growth of trees stops, as the metabolism and visible growth are inhibited. But this does not mean that life activity stops. Processes are ongoing, and they are important enough for growth. The starch accumulated during the growing season is converted into sugar, which is consumed during respiration.

Growth processes, imperceptible outwardly, continue. There is a preparatory period. Without it, active growth in spring and summer is impossible. It is in winter that the active formation of the educational tissue (meristem) takes place, from which new cells and tissues are created, which are so necessary for growth. Can this information answer the question of whether a tree grows in winter, why does it not freeze?

Maybe yes. After all, it is these processes that prepare the tree for growth. Without educational tissue, tree growth is impossible. It is at this time that the primordia of leaves and flowers in the buds (vegetative and flower) are born. This occurs in both deciduous and coniferous trees.

The length of the dormant period

So do trees grow in winter, why do some of them enter the growing season earlier and others later? The duration of dormancy for all trees and shrubs is different and does not occur simultaneously. If you take lilac, honeysuckle and blackcurrant, then they have a dormant period, which begins in October, the shortest. When grown in greenhouse conditions, they behave like evergreens. In these situations, the buds open in November. This suggests that in the process of evolution, these trees and shrubs adapted to cold conditions and learned to shed their leaves.

Until January, this period lasts for birch, hawthorn and poplar. Longer dormancy in coniferous trees, maple, linden and oak. It can be up to six months. As a result, one may doubt whether the growth coniferous trees in winter. Preparatory processes they start late, but still they go, which gives the right to give an affirmative answer.

Why do trees not freeze in winter?

How do trees resist the cold? Small plants covered with snow do well. But why big trees with bare branches do not freeze? What helps them resist the cold? The fact is that they have a natural antifreeze, which allows you to withstand significant frosts. These are sugars that trees make from starch stored in the summer. Sugars play a special role in the cytoplasm, preventing proteins from clotting (coagulation) during a decrease in temperature. The more starch stored, the more sugars. It is they who give the trees the opportunity not to freeze in winter.

The need for a rest period

It is often asked why we do not see the process of growth itself. But after all, if a tree has not visibly increased, then this does not mean at all that it does not grow. It is in winter that the most important process of future growth, described above, begins. Without it, the spring vegetation of the tree is impossible.

It has been noticed that if the winter is warm, with little snow and short, then the trees do not grow well in spring and summer. This indicates the importance of the cold season for them, which makes it possible to prepare for active development and growth.

If you dig snow in a deciduous forest in February, you can see small sprouts near the trees. In summer, the so-called growth is formed from them. This suggests that trees grow in winter as well. Under the snow, the temperature is about zero, which creates normal conditions for life.

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