What are Deciduous Trees?
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Deciduous trees are trees that shed their leaves for a part of every year. Unlike evergreens, deciduous trees lose their leaves during the cold or dry season, depending on the climate, and remain bare until they grow new leaves each spring. Deciduous trees are often collectively referred to as hardwoods.
One of the spectacular things about deciduous trees is the wide array of colors that their leaves display before they are shed. Depending on the variety, deciduous trees have leaves that turn from bright yellow to crimson and many shades of orange in between. In the United States, deciduous trees in the north begin to turn colors four to five weeks before deciduous trees further south. The changing leaves mark the beginning of autumn.
Some of the most popular varieties of deciduous trees include poplars, ashes, birches, maples, locusts, and oaks. All of these trees produce the same type of popular hewn lumber hardwoods. Conversely, evergreens such as pines and redwoods tend to be softer woods. Many deciduous trees such as cherries, crabapples, magnolias, and dogwoods flower when they are leafless or just beginning to grow new leaves. This aids the pollination process because the flowers are visible to insects and there are no leaves to obstruct the wind from carrying the pollen.
Many varieties of deciduous trees are native to North America. They range in size from several feet to over a hundred feet (approximately 30.5 meters). While the tallest tree in the world by volume is the General Sherman Sequoia in Sequoia National Forest and is a conifer, or evergreen, many deciduous trees reach well over 100 feet (30.48 meters) in height. The tallest reported sugar maple, for example, reached 110 feet (33.53 meters).
Deciduous trees can achieve a variety of landscaping goals from creating shade, to lending beauty to a yard, to establishing property borders and privacy. Flowering deciduous trees add a splash of color in the spring. Deciduous trees should be trimmed periodically to help them retain their shape and to prevent excess limb loss. If you are interested in planting any variety of deciduous trees, consult a nursery or garden center in your area to decide which varieties are best for your yard.
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