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Fall Is Tree Planting Time

2020-09-02T00:25:08+00:00

You may not know this but TreeUtah is coming up on it's second busy season of planting, we plant not only in the typical beautiful spring weather but in the early fall too! Fall is a great time to plant trees. A fall garden is full of delightful sights, there’s nothing like the sweet smell of fall and the chill of cooler temperatures to get out there and get planting.

Planting in the fall gives trees an extra growing season, as they benefit from the cooler temperatures and rain allowing them to establish deeper roots and prepare for the coming spring breezes. Trees go dormant in the winter, which is like hibernation but for plants. This period slows down the tree’s growth and energy use. Properly planting trees is the first step towards protecting their long-term survival. It’s safe to plant trees until the ground is frozen solid, generally after the first hard frost. Even if there is snow on the ground, if you can place a shovel in the ground you are good to plant your tree.

Here are five trees that make for colorful fall foliage: Japanese Maple, Berbiris thunbergii, Smoke bush (Cotinus), Dogwood and Hardy plumbago

Remember planting in the fall allows for a stronger root system and daily care. TreeUtah encourages you to be water aware. It is important to make sure your new trees are getting enough water. Due to differing elevations, microclimates, and tree species, be sure your trees have the water they need.

If you plant now you will find you have less aftercare into the next season. The first 2 years of a tree’s life is critical for survival. The tree is establishing its root system in the soil and is sensitive to stressors like heat and drought. Water a newly planted tree immediately after planting and routinely check the soil moisture often to be sure the tree has enough water for the next 2 growing seasons. After the tree is established, it will have an easier time adjusting to heat and drought conditions.

TreeUtah Tree Care Guide

Golden Larch Magic

2020-10-20T01:45:15+00:00

As you take your fall season drive looking for the brilliant changing colors in Utah's mountains the sight of the western larch (Larix occidentalis) and subalpine larch (Larix lyallii) are some of the most unique and bright trees you'll encounter and they have no leaves! Larch trees are conifers that are deciduous. That means that they have needles like an evergreen tree, but those needles turn bright gold and drop every fall just like a deciduous tree.

Mid-October in Utah is the best time of year to see the larches in their full color. The bright glow of the golden larch is the season’s last light as fall color fades to snowy white and the long lull of winter envelops the park. The larch is a secret magician, quietly blending in with the evergreens. But wait a few months into fall and the larch commands the landscape stage, its golden glow blazing then needles drop and leaving branches twig bare. Very desirable tree with beautiful bark and spectacular color changes in fall.

A little history research produced a fascinating find on the Western Larch in Utah, an excerpt from the U.S. Forest Service Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest:

"In 1907, The Salt Lake Herald reported that seeds of Western Larch were sown at the Wasatch Nursery. In 1912, the Herald reported that the Wasatch National Forest received a 2-ounce package of “high toned and aristocratic” Siberian larch seeds from the estate of Count Max von Sivers of Roemershof, Russia to be planted at the nursery. In 1913, the Herald reported that Count von Siver’s European larch seeds had sprouted, were to be planted that summer, and were the first larch trees in Utah. The Forest Service has not verified which larch species have taken root in Big Cottonwood Canyon as the agency was also collecting western larch seeds during this period.

In addition to the two small stands planted at Spruces Campground, a few more larch trees planted by the nursery workers have been spotted in Big Cottonwood Canyon. When the golden aspen leaves have fallen in Big Cottonwood Canyon, two stands of yellow/orange larch trees become prominent in late October on the north-facing slope adjacent to Spruces Campground. Spruces Campground was the former site of the Wasatch Nursery, which operated from 1906-1920 to grow seedlings to be planted on the newly created Salt Lake Forest Reserve in an effort to reforest the city watershed which had been impacted by logging, grazing, and mining. The nursery was charged with conducting “urgent forestry experiments” to determine which tree species could grow in the canyons. These larch stands are a remnant of the Wasatch Nursery, having survived over 100 years. Larch are one of the few conifer species that shed their needles in late autumn. These are the only known larch on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest."

To review; several species of larch are native to the northern U.S. but others were introduced from Europe. Larches are large and tall trees that reach 50-80 feet. This evergreen has deciduous needles that are up to 1 1/4 inch long. Larch needles are light green in color most of the year which then turn yellow in autumn before shedding. Cones are up to 1 1/2 inches long, egg-shaped and stalkless. Fun historical fact, Native Americans once tied the slender roots of Larch trees together to use as strips of bark for their canoes. More information on Utah conifers can be found here.

We hope you enjoy this fall season driving, hiking and wandering adventures, and don't forget to look for the bright colors of the conifers too!

Why do trees shed their leaves?

2022-10-06T09:00:00+00:00

Each year, the landscape is painted with a vibrant array of reds and yellows as the trees lining the horizon change color and eventually drop from their branches. It’s an eye-catching spectacle, but also commonplace, allowing the routine marvel to cycle through each year without raising questions. Questions like “how do the leaves change color?” or “why do they do it?” If you’ve ever wondered why it happens, read on!

Rooted in place, trees clearly can’t migrate or seek shelter from the harsh winter conditions that will soon be upon us, so they’ve adapted to make do with their circumstances. As the days become shorter and temperatures drop, production of chlorophyll, the chemical responsible for the green color of leaves, stops and other chemicals dominate. Carotenes, the chemical responsible for yellow pigments, has been in the leaves the whole time, but chlorophyll’s brilliant green outshines the yellow for most of the year. Anthocyanins, chemicals responsible for reds and pinks, will enter production as long as temperatures stay above freezing. Drier, warmer Autumns will bring more red leaves (and a shorter period of time before leaves turn brown and drop). The balance of chemicals throughout the tree does not occur uniformly, which is why you might see greens, yellows, and reds all on one tree.

The color change is a side-effect of the shedding process, which involves the weakening of leaves’ abscission layer. The abscission layer is formed where the leaf grows out from the branch and is its primary point of connection. This point of connection is preserved throughout the Summer by the production of a hormone called auxin. Production of auxin slows as days get colder and shorter, causing the connections that hold leaves onto the branches to weaken and eventually break.

Bare branches in the Winter have three primary benefits. First, it allows the tree to expend far less energy in harsh conditions. The energy it would take to maintain leaves throughout a harsh Winter would be too much for a tree to handle. Second, it helps the tree preserve moisture in its trunk. During the Winter, almost all the water usually available to a tree is frozen, so the tree can no longer access it. By dropping its leaves, a tree can halt the process of evapotranspiration (how trees keep cool in the heat – think of it kind of like sweating) and the tree also saves water by not needing to send any to its leaves. Preserving moisture in a tree’s trunk is critical for its survival – it ensures the primary structure of the tree lives and it reduces risk of breakage. The third primary benefit is that the lack of leaves allows forceful Winter winds to pass through the branches with minimal strain. With leaves, the increased surface area would lead to increased wind resistance and more strain on the branches, which would increase the chances of detrimental breakage.

The vast majority of trees go through this process each year, keeping them safe and healthy throughout the Winter, but what about evergreens? Why don’t they go through this process? Well, tune in next week to find out!