In the autumn, the temperature drops, the days get shorter and the trees around us start an important change. Beautiful fall colours begin the transition with our deciduous trees losing their leaves – this will protect them later from the weight of snow and ice. Another reason trees lose their leaves is to reduce the loss of water during winter. Water is as important for our trees as it is for us, as it comprises nearly 80% of tree material.
Freezing water inside a tree can do a lot of damage. The protective bark on a tree provides some insulation. Between freezing and thawing in winter sunshine, the tissues beneath the bark can dry out and crack. This happens most commonly in thin barked trees – young maples and birches.
As our wonderful shade providing, air freshening, carbon sequestering trees begin their winter dormancy, let’s remember them and offer our prayers for their survival this winter – may they withstand the wind and the cold and refresh us again in spring.