Impact of Late Falling Leaves
marvinp@umich.edu
Mon, 22 Dec 1997 13:01:11 -0600
Hello, All:
Does anyone know of negative impacts to the physiology
of trees to have their leaves stay on much longer than usual?
Many of Michigan's deciduous trees still had 60% of their
leaves well into November. In these parts most of the leaves
are gone by early in November. We had an early snowstorm that
caused tree damage because of the weight of the snow in localized areas.
My question is asking: will the trees that have held their
leaves longer than usual be more suspectible to winter
temperature damage? Are these trees still "tender" because
of the late forming abscission layer severing the leaf
stalk; the bud set being delayed; and has a sufficient amount
of starch recycled to the root storage zones?
Thanks in advance for any input.
Marvin Pettway, Forester, Univ. of MI
marvinp@umich.edu
313-647-1167