Others lie under plant roots or in shallow nests in the ground. Certain species deepen their nests below the frost line as winter approaches. There they crowd into their tunnels and chambers with their legs interlocked and sleep through the cold winter. In summer, plants make and store food in their roots, stems, or seeds. In winter, they rest.
Plants pass the winter in various ways.
Annuals flower in the same season that they are planted. Then, transferring all their reserve food to their seeds, the plants wither and die. Inside the protective seed covering, the embryonic plant lies dormant until the moisture and warmth of spring stimulate its growth. As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer and colder, the foodstuffs in the leaves of perennial plants drain back into the twigs, branches, and trunk. The gradual decrease in temperature causes changes in the plant tissues that make them more resistant to cold.