Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Nature
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-08-2020, 10:18 AM
 
Location: Washington DC
844 posts, read 680,099 times
Reputation: 841

Advertisements

I am pretty sure that at least one month with a mean temperature below 50F/10C can cause a dormancy period. Is that true?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-08-2020, 02:19 PM
 
2,690 posts, read 1,596,108 times
Reputation: 9906
It all depends on the kind of trees. I've spent Christmas in Mexico and with 95 degree days the deciduous trees still observe the seasons and lose their leaves. The seasons are more than the temperature, they are the shortened daylight, the angle of the sun, even in Puerto Vallarta, closer to the equator but not close enough that deciduous trees don't react.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2020, 03:23 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
5,618 posts, read 5,904,533 times
Reputation: 4875
So I'm assuming you're talking about winter dormancy. So like in metro Atlanta this is typical January. We have the evergreen pines, but the deciduous trees are barren and the grass is brown.

I know when I lived in Houston there was a slight winter look. Brown grass, and some trees lost their leaves and were bare.

I'm not sure how far south that changes. Miami I don't think has a winter look at all. I've been there in December and February and it's just looked completely green.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2020, 03:33 PM
 
14,238 posts, read 11,545,668 times
Reputation: 38923
There are lots of trees in Southern California that lose their leaves in the winter. Of course, there are even more that don't, but if you're paying attention, there is a difference in vegetation between winter and the rest of the year.

The brown grass puzzles me. I assumed grass always turns brown in winter in four-season climates, but I've visited Spokane in the dead of winter several times, and although there was snow on the ground, the grass was still green underneath it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2020, 04:40 PM
 
Location: Washington DC
844 posts, read 680,099 times
Reputation: 841
Quote:
Originally Posted by sedimenjerry View Post
So I'm assuming you're talking about winter dormancy. So like in metro Atlanta this is typical January. We have the evergreen pines, but the deciduous trees are barren and the grass is brown.

I know when I lived in Houston there was a slight winter look. Brown grass, and some trees lost their leaves and were bare.

I'm not sure how far south that changes. Miami I don't think has a winter look at all. I've been there in December and February and it's just looked completely green.
I am indeed talking about winter dormancy. I know of places (such as the FL peninsula) where you can have a tree that is losing it's leaves and another tree right next to it that is growing new leaves.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2020, 05:33 PM
 
Location: Greenville, SC
6,219 posts, read 5,915,346 times
Reputation: 12160
Quote:
Originally Posted by Corey the Otter View Post
I am indeed talking about winter dormancy. I know of places (such as the FL peninsula) where you can have a tree that is losing it's leaves and another tree right next to it that is growing new leaves.
I'm not sure what you mean by the peninsula. There are three climatic zones in Florida: draw a line between Tampa and Melbourne; everything above that line is subtropical. You see winter dormancy in plants above that line. Draw another line from Fort Myers to West Palm Beach; everything below the line is tropical. You don't see winter dormancy in plants below that line. The region between is a transition zone, so you'll find characteristics of both the tropical and subtropical zones there.

https://www.touristmaker.com/climate...-climate-zones
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2020, 05:44 PM
 
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
11,936 posts, read 13,043,528 times
Reputation: 27078
I live in South Florida and the only leaves that fall are in the spring with the live oaks shed for new growth.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2020, 09:53 PM
 
Location: Washington DC
844 posts, read 680,099 times
Reputation: 841
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vasily View Post
I'm not sure what you mean by the peninsula. There are three climatic zones in Florida: draw a line between Tampa and Melbourne; everything above that line is subtropical. You see winter dormancy in plants above that line. Draw another line from Fort Myers to West Palm Beach; everything below the line is tropical. You don't see winter dormancy in plants below that line. The region between is a transition zone, so you'll find characteristics of both the tropical and subtropical zones there.

https://www.touristmaker.com/climate...-climate-zones
I'm thinking of Tampa, where last February I saw some Sweetgum trees losing leaves and some growing new ones.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-09-2020, 09:56 AM
 
Location: Greenville, SC
6,219 posts, read 5,915,346 times
Reputation: 12160
Quote:
Originally Posted by Corey the Otter View Post
I'm thinking of Tampa, where last February I saw some Sweetgum trees losing leaves and some growing new ones.
Yes, well, Tampa's in the transition zone so that explains it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-12-2020, 07:48 AM
 
Location: Floribama
18,943 posts, read 43,383,611 times
Reputation: 18743
Quote:
Originally Posted by Corey the Otter View Post
I heard people say that the Florida Panhandle has four seasons. Does it really have a period where the trees are bare?
Yes, although it may not be as noticeable due to the dominance of pines, and then you have trees like Live Oak that shed their leaves in the spring before getting new ones.

Trees like Red Maple, Sweetgum, and Red oaks are bare during the winter. We also use warm season grasses for lawns here, and they are typically dormant and brown during the winter.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Nature

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top