Do you know why conifers don't shed their needles?
Miscellaneous / / May 30, 2023
Winter and summer in the same color? No, it's not that simple.
When winter approaches, the leaves turn yellow and then fall off. And the trees remain bare until it warms up again. But this is not the case for all of them. For example, spruces, pines, firs, junipers and thujas do not bother with such conventions and do not shed their needles in any weather. Why? It's all about the differences in the arrangement of leaves and needles.
Both deciduous and coniferous plants live off photosynthesis. They get water from the earth with the help of roots, and sunlight catch leaves or needles. And the latter, in fact, are all the same leaves - only narrower and very tightly twisted.
Using the energy of the sun, plants convert water and carbon dioxide into various sugars and starches, which are then eaten.
In winter, the days are shorter and the plants receive less sun than in summer. And wide juicy leaves become vulnerable to cold. They freeze, and because of them, the plant loses precious water.
It becomes unprofitable for the tree to try to photosynthesize further and use the accumulated sugar to maintain the life of the leaves. Therefore it
resets them and goes into hibernation in order to save as much nutrients as possible and hold out until spring, when there will be more sun and heat.Coniferous trees also receive noticeably less energy for photosynthesis in winter. But their needles are resistant to cold. Firstly, the needles have a smaller area than the leaves, and secondly, they covered a special waxy coating that prevents moisture loss.
Therefore, needles for Christmas trees and firs do not need to be shed for the winter. As a result, they are adapted to a wide range of temperatures and can grow both in warm climates and in very harsh ones.
However, to say that conifers never shed their needles at all is wrong, because they change them regularly. According to data University of Iowa, needles can last 1-3 years. In autumn, old needles turn brown and brown and fall off, instead of which trees constantly grow new ones.
And the phrase “in winter and summer in one color” is not quite correct, because spruces, pines, firs and arborvitae regularly change color every year, just sometimes the changes are noticeable, and sometimes not so much. Conifers can be bright or dark green, yellow and even brown.
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