How does the winter effect trees?
During the winter its important to remember that almost all trees are approximately 50% water. The winter season poses a great risk in the sense that extreme temperatures can cause the tree to suffer internal freezing. Fortunately, mother nature has worked out processes for our beloved trees to survive the winter. It begins way back in the summer months with storing nutrients for use in the cold. One of the more risky wounds a tree can endure is a frost crack. These damages to the tree are typically horizontally carved cuts that go deep into tree trunk’s surface.
This typically happens when a surprise shift in climate occurs causing the surface of the trunk to contract inwards. However, the key aspect to understand is that the surface contracts at a faster rate than the layers below it and as a result they collide. The collision is dangerous because the tree never complete recovers despite appearance. Each subsequent winter it is possible for the same wound to reopen with more ease than the first time. Thankfully through the years we have found reliable methods to dealing with the serious possibility of frost cracks.