After a long, cold Winter, the days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer, but how can you tell when Spring has officially arrived? We still have some weeks to go before the seasons change, but here are some signs we can keep our eyes peeled for as the season of renewal approaches!
Throughout the year, the TreeUtah team finds a simple joy in observing the changes in trees as the seasons unfold. One of the first signs of Spring is the appearance of new growth on trees as they exit their Winter-long dormant phases. The most noticeable indicator of this growth is the swelling of buds. As the Winter comes to a close, you’ll notice little green nodes appear along the branches of trees - these are the buds. Buds are the small, undeveloped leaves or flowers that are protected by scales during the winter. As the weather warms up, the buds begin to swell and eventually burst open, revealing new leaves or flowers.
The type of tree that is the first to show signs of spring varies depending on the climate. In warmer climates, the first trees to bloom are usually the fruit trees, such as cherry and plum trees. In colder climates, the first trees to bloom are usually the deciduous trees, such as maple and birch trees.
Beneath the surface of trees, some unseen changes are also taking place. As the temperature oscillates between freezing and warm temperatures in the late Winter and early Spring, sap begins to run. This sap helps transport nutrients to support new springtime growth, like the buds. In addition to nutrients, the sap carries hormones that control growth and prompt the tree to react to environmental triggers, ensuring each part of the tree is responding to environmental factors synchronously. These hormones help a tree grow according to the resources available.
In addition to temperature changes, another key signal for trees to exit their dormancy is the length of daily sunlight, also known as the photoperiod. Trees sense this through photoreceptors called phytochromes. As the phytochromes receive more sunlight, they become active. As they become more active, hormonal changes occur in the tree that signal it is time to grow and reproduce.
Much like the trees, TreeUtah’s activity changes with the seasons. During the Winter months, we’ve been busy planning ahead for the Spring 2025 planting season. We’re eager for temps to go up, so that we can get back out in the field to plant trees with our community! One sign that it’s time to get back to planting are those buds we mentioned earlier, so just know that when you see those little green nodes, our planting events will be following close behind.
