Deciduous Trees In Winter

[TC3]

Do any of you northerners ever target stressed trees by them being full of dead leaves that didn't fall off ? I know that Oaks tend to hang onto their leaves 'til spring... something about the way they bud out ? But I've noticed other trees (lotsa Red Maple, Bradford Pear, Willow) that are full of dead leaves & I have to believe they're highly stressed ?
What kinds of trees tend to hang onto their leaves >>> and why ?
I mostly notice easement trees, and stress is pretty much a given, but do any of you use this technique as a diagnostic tool ?
Can you tell that I have a lot of time on my hands lately ?!? LOL

 

[Old Monkey]

I think a lot of it has to do with the timing of the first hard frost. That is just my personal theory though.

 

[stehansen]

Apple trees are pretty slow to lose their leaves around here. Some farmers used to spray them with some zinc stuff to make the leaves fall.

 

[Jamin Mayer]

I agree with TC3. I think it is a sign of stress in trees. For example, I see fire blighted apple trees which will hold/not release leaves. I see cottonwoods & aspens with cytospora canker, which won't full drop leaves. I see Maples stressed with chlorosis which hold/cannot drop leaves too.

If I am right with my observations too, when I see the wilted leaves that have not dropped in the fall, they do not leaf out in the following spring (in some cases).--Especially trees infected with cytospora canker.

Just my thoughts.

 

[sotc]

pin oaks around here keep their leaves till spring, never bothered to find out why

 

[treelooker]

Leaf fall is an active process. trees have to make abscissic acid to abscise (cut) the leaves.

property i worked on yesterday in the mountains had 36 big trees. Most of the nekkid already.

 

[ArborOmega]

You can sometimes see a different color or shade on the dead stressed leaf than a leave that has gone through the natural "fall" process. I can definately see this in oaks around here. Also we have (and are) dealt with major drought this year so not only is every tree stressed - drought promts a different fall response with the leaf.

 

[Wagnaw]

My boss said something the other day, that Dogwood branches holding on to their leaves is a sign of anthracnos (distula distructiva). I'm not sure if I believe him or not yet. Though anthracnos has been a big problem around here with dogwoods, just like everywhere else I guess.

 

[treelooker]

My boss said something the other day, that Dogwood branches holding on to their leaves is a sign of anthracnos (distula distructiva). I'm not sure if I believe him or not yet.

Me neither. The spots are very distinctive and the only reliable sign. Dogwoods can hold onto leaves for other reasons.

 

[Al Smith]

Beech will hang on to the leaves until the new ones come out,just a beech being a beech.Some oaks hang on to them a long while also.

I never really gave it much thought. Maybe the trees are being kind so the squirrels have something to line their nests with.

 

[Tom_Scheller]

Leaf fall is an active process. trees have to make abscissic acid to abscise (cut) the leaves. .

So what are the things that would interrupt abscissic acid production?

TS

 

[Underwor]

Up here we occasionally get an early frost that shuts things down prior to abscission. This makes the leaves hang on most of the winter. DED will cause the same thing, leaves killed late in the year, but before abscission, will often stay on into winter on affected limbs. I think that these are all stress related in these cases. The oaks and beeches just do it naturally.

 

[treelooker]

The oaks and beeches just do it naturally.

Only the juvenilest tissue cannot abscise its foe lee ozh.