Deciduous trees in temperate forests leaf out at different times due to adaptations and ecological factors. Researchers studied why this happens and found that variability in frost occurrence and vulnerability to freezing-induced xylem embolism contribute to the divergence in spring phenology. They also discovered that nonstructural carbohydrates predict survival in saplings under carbon stress, and that leaf out time correlates with wood anatomy across different geographic scales. These findings help us understand how trees in forest communities adapt to changing environmental conditions.