Winter Plants Writing Prompts

571. In the months leading up to winter, plants develop cold hardiness, which allows them to handle the upcoming colder months. Imagine that your skin and body changed during the winter. How would it change and how would it improve your resistance to the cold?

572. Another winter preparation step for plants includes not growing during the winter. Why might plants be more vulnerable to the cold if they kept growing? What might happen if you gave plants a lot of food right before the winter and why?

573. You and your family have taken up winter vegetable farming, harvesting veggies like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, and onions. What might be difficult about harvesting these crops in the winter? Would you enjoy the dishes made from these vegetables? Why or why not?

574. Annuals are plants that live only one year, die off at the end of summer and then leave their seeds to survive the harsh winter months. What would it be like to live an entire lifetime in only one year? What are some things annuals miss out on by only living one year?

575. Some seeds can live over one hundred years buried deep in cold soil before they germinate. How tough do you think pregnancy would have been on your mom if you were in her womb for twice or three times as long and why?

576. Trees that live near the Arctic change during the winter to produce sap that is extremely sweet and sugary. Not only does this keep the tree from freezing, but humans can harvest the sap to use on pancakes. What would it be like to take the syrupy sap directly from one of these trees and why?

577. Like squirrels, some plants start storing food in the form of bulbs and tubers during the fall to prep for the winter. Create a conversation between two plants during the winter, bored of eating the same old stored food all winter long. What do they talk about and why?

578. Some trees have adapted to hold off budding new leaves until they can tell that winter is over. Do you think that winter feels different from spring? How is it different? How might a tree be able to feel the difference between the two seasons?

579. Conifers, including pine trees, make perfect Christmas trees because their leaves don't fall off before winter. Why might their leaves be able to survive the harsh temperatures of winter? How would you compare the appearance of a pine tree to a tree without any leaves?

580. What are some ways in which winter plants and winter animals could work together for survival? Why would it be a good idea for them to help each other out?