What happens when you take a deciduous tree and place it in a climate controlled greenhouse?

Question

The greenhouse would have stable level of light, (matched with day/night wavelength brightness changes like outside the greenhouse), humidity and temperature. Do certain processes in the tree not trigger? Does this harm the organism, and are there changes in life expectancy?

Answer 1

Well, this does depend a bit on which tree species you're dealing with. The term "deciduous" just means that the plant tends to drop its leaves when conditions are less favourable or when it is energetically beneficial. There are many different degrees to which a plant can be deciduous or even different processes by which their leaves senesce.

Generally, I believe that if you're relocating a native, southeastern (US) tree to a greenhouse, it most likely won't drop its leaves as it won't be stressed by changing temperatures as it normally might. (assuming that moving it, changing water regimes, changing light regimes, differing fertilization regimes, etc. won't also be a potential issue). Hope this helps a bit!