Don't Be Alarmed By Spring Leaf Drop

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Leaves are turning yellow, then brown and falling to the ground. What's wrong with your tree or shrub? Aren't leaves supposed to drop in the fall?

Well, that's true for deciduous trees and shrubs (the ones that are bare in winter), they have leaves that change color and drop during autumn. But other trees, like certain evergreens, let go of some of their leaves during the spring instead.

Hollies, for example, from very tall varieties to the smaller shrubs, have a 'spring leaf drop,' as do many evergreen magnolias. These trees can let go of as much as one-third of their old leaves at this time of year. That's why it might seem to you like something's wrong with your tree if this is the first time you've ever noticed it.

But, as old leaves drop, the plant replaces them with fresh growth. Take a look and you can probably see new young leaves emerging as the old ones tumble down.

In my yard full of American hollies, there's been a constant clatter in the breeze this week of old leaves falling through the trees to make way for the bright green leaves already beginning to unfurl.