Comments on: what happens to plants during winter?

By: Peggy P

Peggy P — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:46:54 +0000

they go dormant and all life processes stop /like of like being on hold. evergreens are confiers and they produce food all year round, but decidoiuds plants do die to the ground , but those with bulbs and good root structures grow back faster and better , that;’s why we trim in the fall and in early spring. to stimulate regrowth so that stems and producing parts of the plant come back to prduve food for the new year better when weather conditions are ripe for plants.

By: gardengallivant

gardengallivant — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:13:29 +0000

Water is the problem in cold. Water expands when it freezes so the plant has to protect itself from this. If a plant cell freezes, it does what a frozen water pipe does: it ruptures.
Plants use two methods to become dormant so they prevent the damage. They stop all reactions that require water. This means they stop growth, they store food for spring start up, then they use plant antifreeze to avoid damage. They do this when the day gets short before the first frost date usually.
If the region gets well below freezing the plant may do more to protect itself. They also move water out of cells leaving the substances that tolerate cold without freezing inside. Water sits frozen between cells but not breaking the cell open.
In extreme dormancy they also count the number of hours they spend below freezing. Plants in this phase can not wake up til enough cold time has passed so if a few warm hours happen they do not respond. These plants can survive zones 1- 3.
Basic life support or basal respiration continues year round in trees that under go ectodormancy in regions of zone 4 or higher. Without chloroplasts they may not photosynthesize but respiration continues in mitochondria throughout the sapwood volume of the plant. The maintenance respiration rate continues depending on the temperature in the woody tissue. Stem respiration increases with spring bud break over several weeks but bole respiration is only slightly increased over winter levels. There is no above ground growth during dormancy but the plant continues basic metabolic functions and minimal below ground growth/repair as long as the water remains unfrozen.
Herbaceous perennials expect and allow die back of all above surface structures protecting only the root and crown to regrow from.

By: ghost rider

ghost rider — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:02:32 +0000

mostly they’ll die…but not all plants are like that….actually what plants need is sunlight which is very important for them to live….so if we take good care of them they’ll be alive

By: Shahidul I

Shahidul I — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:39:28 +0000

Some plants do die cause of the lack of warmth and that makes the plants die.

But some plants survive in the winter but not alot

By: Jenny Smith

Jenny Smith — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:00:33 +0000

trees live in a slowed down state, they stored energy in their root systems and will live off of that till spring, yes some plants die and come back the next year from seeds they deposited during the growing season

By: North

North — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:49:27 +0000

They pack up and go south to Florida.