Autumn leaves are brilliant, colorful, showy, breathtaking, vacation-worthy, and postcard picture perfect….

photo by Aaron Brake

until they fall off the tree.  Then they become crinkly, earthy-smelling piles of fun, work, mulch, and compost!

We all know that deciduous trees lose their leaves–the hallmark of fall.  But did you know that evergreen conifers lose their leaves, too?  Their leaves are generally called needles, and like deciduous trees, new growth occurs every spring.  Unlike the deciduous trees who shed all their leaves each fall, the evergreens keep a number of years’ growth throughout the year.  But they don’t keep them all.  Evergreen foliage lives for one to seven years, depending on the species.  As the new growth emerges, the older growth becomes shaded and produces less food for the tree.  White pines keep three years’ growth in the summer, drop the inner needles in the fall, and keep two years’ growth in the winter.  The inner needles turn bright yellow quite suddenly and remain attached for seven to ten days, depending on the weather.

And then they fall to the ground, carpeting the grass with a sappy layer of pine needles decorated with an occasional cone.

The inner scale-like leaves of Arborvitae (White cedar) turn brown and remain on the tree longer than the white pine needles, but they too will eventually fall off to mulch the ground below.

Red pines also exhibit seasonal needle drop, though not as noticeably as white pines or arborvitae.

Needle drop on spruces and firs is even less noticeable, for they maintain the largest number of years’ growth.  On the opposite end of the spectrum are deciduous conifers that drop their needles every year–larch, bald cypress, and dawn redwood.

The larch

The death and deposition of the oldest, innermost needles of evergreen trees reflects the normal growth cycle of a healthy tree.  The white pine in our yard looks lighter and healthier now that it has shed its yellow needles.  It will be a beautiful beacon this winter in a landscape of white as it prepares itself for next year’s spring growth.

Like the evergreens’ inner needle drop, I think it’s important for humans to periodically get rid of ‘the old.’  Maybe getting ready for winter helps us do that–cleaning and tossing out junk that has accumulated from the carefree summer so that everything fits into the garage, shed, or closet.  Making sure things are ready and fit for winter use.  Cleaning up leaves and cutting back perennials so the trees and plants will be ready for new growth after their long winter hiatus.  Perhaps we also shed some ‘old thoughts’ in the process that no longer feed us, making us lighter and healthier as we head into the winter and into our own preparation for a season of new growth.