In winter, mist rises from the lake as the sun breaks through the Spanish moss-draped trees, creating a hauntingly beautiful scene that feels like a step back in time.

Deciduous trees, like maples and oaks, have a lot of water inside their trunks and branches. Water is the single most important substance for tree life, comprising nearly 80% of tree material.

When you've always known deciduous trees to drop their leaves in winter, seeing one that hasn't can be unsettling. Here's why trees may hold onto their leaves.

Deciduous trees survive winter through a process similar to hibernation, called dormancy. Certain conditions need to be in place for dormancy to occur. Here, we examine how trees live through winter.

Which Trees to Water in Winter Most well established deciduous trees don't require watering in the winter. However, there are a few types of trees that benefit from winter moisture: Evergreens.

Deciduous trees include oaks, maples, birches and willows, and any other tree you see losing leaves during autumn. Losing leaves allows the tree to spend less energy in the winter.

The specific sunrise and sunset times will vary depending on our latitude. If we live closer to the North Pole, we’ll see much less daylight in the winter than folks who live closer to the equator.