Inyo wrote:


We have a Liquidambar (Sweetgum) planted in our front yard (the tree closely
resembles an Amur Maple, of course--and, yes, I know I know: Liquidamber is a
member of the Hamamelidaceae, not Aceraceae). The tree gets all kinds of water,
not only from the winter rainy season, but from our regular irrigation of the
lawn during summer, all the way up until the leaves fall completely off. The
tree seldom develops a stunning brilliant red Autumnal display that virtually
every other Liquidambar reveals around town during Fall. Our Liquidambar's
leaves remain, most years, a dull yellow, bordering on dingy brown. Depressing,
in the main. As I recollect, our Liquidambar does indeed seem to demonstrate at
least a modicum of reddish Autumnal glory when we've not watered nearly as much
during the summer, or early Fall. Could be merely coincidence, though; or,
perhaps the change is influenced by microclimates, or even differences in
ground chemistry caused by irrigation leaching ions from the
soil during our years of heavy watering.

Or it could be that the molecule responsible red color in Amur maple when combined
with water becomes red whereas a similar molecule in Sweetgum is the reverse color
of yellow. So that the molecule with alot of water is red for amur but yellow for
sweetgum.

Water dependency makes sense on another dimension. When we cut a branch off of a
tree it never turns from green to red but always to yellow brown because the water
has been reduced.

Now if this Liquidambar branch was broken does it tend to turn a reddish tint
before going yellow-brown? And why is it called "Liquid" and "ambar" in the first
place? Is it because it has something to do with red and water.



On the other hand, the Chinese Pistache in our back yard receives prodigious
amounts of water during the summer and early Autumn--and that tree has no
problem turning brilliant red each and every year.

Finally, one last observation: most of the Liquidambars around our town are
pretty much neglected--the trees along the main streets and such. The only
water they apparently receive is from the customary winter and early Spring
rain cycles; and those Liquidambars, each and every year, virtually explode in
a brilliant display of vivid reds--gorgeous. They put our tree to shame.

So, if the hypothesis that links reddish Autumnal leaf colors with the amount
of water delivered to a tree during the time the leaves begin to turn color
"holds water," bears credence, then our situation is directly opposite of
yours, at least with regard to the Liquidambar.


It maybe in that the chemistry of leaves and water are reverse of that between
amur-maple and sweetgum.

But your post raises many other more important questions in my mind:

(1) do plants and trees like alot of water in Autumn considering that they are
going dormant anyway and shedding their internal water

(2) do evergreen trees like alot of water in Autumn considering that they are
trying to remove water and instill antifreeze into their needles

(3) do plants and trees in the winter uptake water or do they stop taking in water
during winter

(4) would a plant or tree after the leaves are off and put into a waterless soil
during winter, would it die? I would guess not because some trees are bare rooted
and put into a refrigerator and stays alive.

So what is the deal for plants and trees in Autumn and Winter. Do they like a wet
Autumn or prefer a dry Autumn. And do they take in water during Winter days.

Archimedes Plutonium
www.iw.net/~a_plutonium
whole entire Universe is just one big atom where dots
of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies