May I ask a question of our DUers who live in the deep south?

[NNN0LHI]

Up north here we have four distinct seasons. In the fall all the leaves turn brown and fall off the trees. And the tree stops growing and goes dormant for the winter. Pretty much every leafy plant does this. Then in the spring about 6 months later the leaves come back and everything becomes green again and it starts all over again.

Does that happen in the deep south where it stays warm all the time? For instance does an oak tree stay green and full of leaves all year long down there? Or does it go through similar seasonal cycles even in the south where it never really gets cold?

Thanks in advance to anyone who wants to explain this.

Don

[dawg]

1. I got snowed-in for three days last Winter.

Except for parts of Florida, we pretty much have four distinct seasons. (Although Spring and Fall can be pretty "Summery")

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. they lose their leaves in the fall.

snow in bama

[Tuesday Afternoon]

13. if you will notice, the decidouus trees have lost their leaves, while the evergreen

is still - well - green. You have evergreens where you are, right?

[Crazy Dave]

3. Where I'm at in FL it stays in the upper 80s about 9 months

You may see one week with highs in the 40s then it's hot again. Some trees lose the leaves some don't. There's so many different species of oaks here where some stay green year round and others lose their leaves. I have to put my magnolia seeds in the freezer for a month so that they will go dormant in order for them to sprout in the spring.

[raccoon]

4. One thing I've noticed about leaves changing colors in the fall, in

lower SC the fall colors are more muted. Get into upper SC/western NC, the colors are more vivid.

I'm sure it has to do with the kinds of trees, but I don't know enough to tell you
which kinds of trees predominate in which areas.

[backwoodsbob]

22. not the kind of trees...environment

trees * in general* will get more vibrant colors if you have good rainfall and plenty of moisture before they turn followed by an abrupt change in season...My little area in SW Va has almost perfect conditions for vibrant colors.

Here's a maple in my front yard I just snapped that is almost done dropping.




Oh and also..thanks to my DU'er friends.6 Months ago I wouldn't have had a clue how to link that and now thanks to people here being patient with my questions 'm starting to figure this out :)

[Shagbark Hickory]

5. Deciduous trees go dormant, even way down in Miami.

Having lived in North Georgia and South Florida and points in between, I can tell you this with 100% certainty.

The length of time that trees stay dormant varies and is much shorter the farther south you go.
And because in Florida, exotic tropical trees and the (semi) evergreen Live Oak (as well as other native evergreens) are far more commonly planted in cultivation, it may seem as though there are no seasons there. Head into inland into the undeveloped natural areas, hardwood hammocks, everglades and cypress domes and the fall color is actually quite nice.

Many people don't know that Red Maples are native to Florida and thrive there. I even heard of some Red Maples growing in cultivation in Miami Beach. Bald Cypress, which are a fairly popular ornamental up north is native to the swamps of Florida. American Elm is also native there and while it's a more diminutive version of its out of state brethren, it managed to avoid the devestation of Dutch Elm disease which doesn't exist in Florida. The related Sugarberry puts on a lovely show of intense yellow foliage. Another small oak tree called Turkey Oak which is commonly found growing around Orlando is another tree that's very showy in the fall.

Additionally, there is an invasive exotic tree called Chinese Tallow which can be found along many roadside ditches in central florida and the fall color on those is incredible.

Fall color starts showing up around late December in the Central and southern part of Florida and the trees start leafing out again only about a month after that. This is earlier and later the farther north (and farther inland) you go.


I'll also go ahead and add that the fall foliage in the northern part of my state, GA, rivals your foliage in the north. That's not meant to be antagonistic. The reason I say that is while you have have more species that exhibit the most intense displays of color... down here we have more species of trees that have showy color. And because the species color at different times, the color is around for much longer than what you have up north. Color starts showing up here in early Oct and stays around until mid to late december.

[Skittles]

6. the leaves are either on the tree or off the tree

that's all

[hobbit709]

7. Our seasons have different lengths

We get two weeks of winter, about a month each for spring and fall and the rest of the year is summer.

[OriginalGeek]

8. I only know it's winter in Orlando because

I have to wear long pants to play golf instead of shorts.


I mean, if I go in the morning.


Afternoon tee times I can still do shorts.

[Shagbark Hickory]

9. You know it's winter in when you start seeing everyone wearing earmuffs and heavy jackets

when it drops down to 65 degrees.

[OriginalGeek]

11. lol that's true

mid to low sixties and I am freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing.

[Shagbark Hickory]

18. In fairness, with your humidity factored in, it feels much colder than it would here if same temp.

When I go down to visit my parents, what I expect to be T-shirt weather is actually pretty uncomfortable.

[OriginalGeek]

19. One of our favorite sayings

"It's not the heat, it's the humidity"

I never even thought about the humidity affecting the cold too lol...

[Shagbark Hickory]

20. It's not just there. Last time I went to Hilton Head in late Nov...

And it was a world of difference.
Came back home where it was 20 degrees cooler and it was so much more comfortable.

[struggle4progress]

10. When I was a kid in Texas, we'd get snow in the winter. Later, it seemed to switch to

no snow but a major ice storm every two or three years, when everybody would drive 60mph down the ice-covered city streets to be able to get home faster where it was safe. A few years ago, when I went back, lots of trees had brown leaves on them, but it was because there was a major drought in the middle of the summer

[Remember Me]

12. It depends --

and the responses so far have been not very helpful in identifying WHERE they're talking about. (Maddening, isn't it?)

I live in Atlanta. 4 distinct seasons.

I lived for a year and a half in Deland, FL, (center of the state, not too far from Orlando) and we had 2 seasons: summer and not-summer where we could have temps from the low 30s in the a.m. to the mid-70s in the pm -- routinely. I found myself changing clothes 3, 4 times a day and I HATED that climate. Just freakin' hated it.

I think, tho, that the panhandle and points that far north in FL., and also along the coast (AL, MS, LA) have 4 seasons too, but have not actually experienced this.

One good way to check is to find yourself an Agriculture or Growing zone map.

[SwampG8r]

17. thats pronounced dee land folks

[OriginalGeek]

23. There's a good fried fish restaurant in Dee Land.

Pier 16 - actually I think it's right outside of Deland in Orange City but close enough - I've only been there once but there was a lot of fried fish and hush puppies for a reasonable price and it was goooooooood. And free corn fritters when I was there.

[SwampG8r]

26. almost sounds like dixie crossroads

the fritters especially

[nolabear]

25. Well, on the coast and in the bayous it's kind of hot and wet and then cold and wet.

Humid, I mean. Some trees drop leaves but there are a lot of palms and piney woods and cypress swamps and manolias, and those don't drop leaves. Live oaks' leaves just turn brown and some hang on. Lots of crop trees like pecans and peaches and oranges, and those vary too.

It's not like it is even a little further north.

[pacalo]

14. Leaves are beginning to fall now on the deciduous trees. By the time really cold weather sets in,

the trees will have lost all their leaves. My hollyberry trees are evergreen trees & will stay full & beautiful during the winter. In fact, the berries are forming now & will turn red soon. I love those trees!

[begin_within]

15. I live in the south, though not the "Deep South" you are thinking.

I live in San Diego, California, which is in the sunbelt in the southern part of the U.S. Here, deciduous trees drop their leaves in the fall and grow new ones in the spring, and have bare branches during the winter, even though it's warm enough here that they could grow new ones. They may start leafing out earlier than trees in the north. Leaves of California sycamore (platanus racemosa) trees turn a drab brown and then fall off.

We have a fig tree that is just now showing yellow on its leaves and they may drop soon. We have a redbud tree that will do the same shortly. The only tree in San Diego that gives any red or orange in the fall, as far as I know, is sweetgum (liquidambar styraciflua), which is not native here; it is native to the southeastern U.S. However it is widely planted here as it is one of the few, maybe even the only, tree that gives true fall colors here. Japanese Maple is sometime grown in highly protected locations here and it does provide fall colors but it is delicate and hard to grow here.

There are plenty of evergreen trees that stay green all year here, including conifers such as pines (the rare torrey pine is native to this county) and any other conifers that are planted such as redwoods, cedars, firs, etc. Coast Live Oak (quercus agrifolia) is a tree native to many areas in California, and it is evergreen. The leaves are small and curled on the edges like holly. There are also many tropical trees here such as palms, tropical fruits, and so forth, which also stay green all year here.

Eucalyptus trees, which were not originally native to California (they were imported from Australia entirely by seed) but are so widespread that one might assume they were native here, are evergreen trees but drop their leaves continuously all year, forming a carpet of dry, brown but still fragrant leaves around their bases. Citrus trees are very common in California and are tender to frost and cold, and are evergreen.

Citrus fruits ripen only on the tree, will not ripen after being picked, and have to be left on the tree for long periods. An orange may sit on a tree for a year before being picked. Ripe oranges may be on the tree at the same time as flowers for next year's fruit. Avocadoes are grown in huge numbers here, and have a shorter ripening period, but they are tender to cold and frost, and are usually grown on hillsides to keep them above "cold pockets" on valley floors. They are also evergreen.

I think in general, trees that are deciduous in their native habitat will also be deciduous here, if planted here, as the cooling temperatures and shorter amounts of daylight time in the fall may trigger them to drop their leaves. However, the period of time they are dormant may be shorter here than in their native habitat, depending on how cold or warm the winter is and how much rain falls or irrigation is applied. Roses can be grown all year long here, but almost everyone prunes their rose bushes back in January, so the period from New Year to about mid-March usually sees no roses on the bushes.

Plants that are native to southern California seem to have adapted to the long, dry summers by growing mostly during the cool, rainy months and going almost into a type of dormancy in the summer, with little growth.

[csziggy]

16. I'm in North Florida so it's different than where I grew up

Down in Central Florida.

We have two kinds of deciduous trees - the ones whose leaves all turn brown and fall off and the ones that keep their leaves until the new ones come out in the spring. That second group are mostly the live oaks, called that because they stay green pretty much all year. In the spring, the live oaks lose their old leaves about the same time they flower, so the trees change from densely covered with dark green leaves to more sparsely covered with olive green flowers and bright green new leaves:


Mature live oak:


The trees that lose their leaves will do it generally after the first frost here. Downstate, I think it's more a day length thing, since some of the trees lost their leaves even without a frost.

Both kinds go dormant in the winter - they produce tree rings just like trees from up north.

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. As you have figured out, there is no ONE "south"

Parts of what people call the South are in semi-tropical climate belts,
and parts in tropical.
Miss, Ala. Georgia, even Fla have different climate zones.
Look at any USDA gardening zone map, you will see different color for different regions in 'the south".

I live in zone 8 ( but that is changing with global warming).
I am about 90 miles north of Mobile, Ala.

We have trees that lose leaves in fall/winter: the nut trees, the dogwoods, the pecans.
The pecans are the last to leaf out again in spring, usually about May.
We have trees that stay green all winter long, notably the magnolias and live oaks.

Leaf color change season is about mid Oct. to mid Nov, maybe to end of Nov. depending on how fast it gets cold.
Leaf color is mostly yellows, browns, and orange, with some reds from the sumacs, from some maples.
And those invasive Chinese Tallow trees.
Fall here can be glorious, the temps drop to around 70, the skies are blue, not much rain.
First frost is around end of Oct, tho for last 2 years we went from summer to cold with out much in between.
"Winter" comes around Jan, and by mid Feb. the forsythia and quince is blooming, sometimes daffodils.
Our leaf color change is quite pretty, not as massive blocks of color like in the postcards from Vermont,
but very lovely in a more subtle way.

Now, up in northern Ala. it gets snow and cold a lot, whole different variation in temperature, and in types of leaf color/trees.

Lastly, the coldest I have ever been was winter, in Mobile. There was a 2 week cold snap, and yes indeed, it IS the humidity, the cold goes right into the bones.

[RebelOne]

24. I live in the Atlanta area.

I moved here from South Florida in 1989. I could not believe there were seasons other than just summer and spring. Right now, all the trees are becoming red and golden.